, 


• 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF. CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


NARRATIVE 


PRIVATIONS   AND   SUFFERINGS 


UNITED  STATES  OFFICERS  AND  SOLDIERS 


PRISONERS    OF    WAR 


15  THE  HANDS  OF  THB 


REBEL  AUTHORITIES. 


BEING    THE    REPORT    OF    A  COMMISSION   OF   INQUIRY,    APPOINTED   BY   THE 
UNITED  STATES  SANITARY  COMMISSION. 


WITH    AN    APPENDIX, 
CONTAINING    THE   TESTIMONY. 


PRINTED  FOR  THE  U.  S.  SANITARY  COMMISSION, 

"          BV 

KING  &  BAIRD,  PRS.,  607  SANSOM  ST.,  PHILAD'A. 
1864. 


"  FOR  I  WAS  AN  HUNGRED,  AND  YE  GAVE  ME  NO  MEAT  :  I  WAS  THIRSTY,  AND 
YE  GAVE  ME  NO  DRINK  :  I  WAS  A  STRANGER,  AND  YE  TOOK  ME  NOT  IN  :  NAKED, 
AND  YE  CLOTHED  ME  NOT:  SICK,  AND  IN  PRISON,  AND  YE  VISITED  ME  NOT. 

"  LORD,  WHEN  SAW  WE  THEE  AN  HUNGRED,  OR  ATHIRST,  OR  A  STRANGER,  OR 
NAKED,  OR  SICK,  OR  IN  PRISON,  AND  DID  NOT  MINISTER  UNTO  THEE  ? 

"  VERILY  I  SAY  UNTO  YOU,  INASMUCH  AS  YE  DID  IT  NOT  TO  ONE  OF  THE  LEAST 
OF  THESE,  YE  DID  IT  NOT  TO  ME." 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  COMMISSION. 


VALENTINE  MOTT,  M.D.,  LL.D., 

EX.PRESIDENT  OF  THE  MEDICAL  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 
NEW  YORK,  AND  EMERITUS  PROFESSOR  OF  SURGERY  j  FELLOW  OF 
KING  AND  QUEEN'S  COLLEGE  OF  PHYSICIANS  OF  IRELAND  j  HON 
ORARY  FELLOW  OF  THE  ROYAL  MEDICAL  AND  CHIRURGICAL  SOCIETY 
OF  LONDON,  ETC.,  ETC. 

Chairman  of  the  Commission. 

EDWARD  DEL  AFIELD,  M.D., 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  COLLEGE  OF  PHYSICIANS  AND  SURGEONS  OF  NEW 
YORK,  AND  EMERITUS  PROFESSOR  OF  OBSTETRICS  AND  THE  DISEASES 
OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  ;  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  NATIONAL 
OPHTHALMOLOGICAL  SOCIETY,  ETC.,  ETC. 

GOUVERNEUR  MORRIS  WILKINS,  ESQ. 
ELLERSLIE  WALLACE,  M.D., 

PROFESSOR  OF  OBSTETRICS  AND  THE  DISEASES  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN, 
JEFFERSON  MEDICAL  COLLEGE,  PHILADELPHIA,  ETC. 

HON.  J.  I.  CLARK  HARE, 

JUDGE  OF  THE  DISTRICT  COURT  OF  THE  CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  PHILA 
DELPHIA. 

REV    TREADWELL  WALDEN, 

RECTOR  or  ST.  CLEMENT'S  CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA. 


(3) 


M316673 


CONTENTS. 


Jlesolutions  of  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission,  appointing  the  Com 
mission  of  Inquiry 13 

THE  NARRATIVE  AND  REPORT  OF  THE  COM 
MISSIONERS 19 

I. 

Reports  of  Cruelties  in  the  Beginning  of  the  War — Mutual  Re 
crimination  of  North  and  South — Later  and  more  Authentic 
Reports — Heart-rending  Condition  of  Returned  Prisoners — The 
Congressional  Inquiry — The  Sanitary  Commission  Appoints  a 
Commission  of  Inquiry — Range  of  the  Investigation —  Visit  of 
the  Commissioners  to  Annapolis  and  Baltimore — Appearance  of 
the  Returned  Prisoners — Living  Skeletons  —  Testimony  Taken 
— The  Claim  of  the  Rebel  Government  and  People  —  The 
Humane  Principles  of  Modern  Warfare 19-20 


II. 

Almost  invariable  Robbery  of  Prisoners — Description  of  Libby 
Prison — Overcrowded  Rooms — Barely  room  to  lie  down — Ragged 
and  verminous  Blankets — Shooting  at  prisoners  without  warning 
— Instances  of  Shooting  in  Libby — Same  in  Danville  and  Atlanta 
— Insufficient  and  disgusting  Rations — Slow  Starvation — With 
holding  and  thieving  of  Boxes  sent  from  the  North — Sufferings 
of  the  Officers— The  Cells— Inhumanity  to  the  Dead— The 
Mining  of  Libby 30-44 


III. 

Description  of  Belle  Isle — No  shelter  provided  from  the  heat  in 
Summer,  or  from  the  cold  in  Winter — Sufferings  during  the  late 
severe  Winter — Expedients  to  avoid  Freezing  to  Death — Men 
Frozen  to  death — The  Loathsome  and  inadequate  Food — Men 

(5) 


6  CONTENTS. 

perishing  from  Hunger — Unavoidable  Filth  of  the  Camp  and  of 
the  Men  on  account  of  the  Rules— Neglect  of  the  Sick— Cruelty 
to  the  Sick — Incidents  of  cruelty  in  Hospitals 45-55 

IV. 

JThe  men  as  they  appeared  when  brought  on  board  the  flag  of 
truce  boat  and  into  the  Hospitals — Distressing  spectacle — 
Hunger,  nakedness,  filthiness — Disease  and  death  from  starva 
tion  and  cold — Cries  for  food — Imbecility  and  insanity  of  many 
— Opinions  of  the  surgeons — The  Medical  Report  of  the  Com 
mission 56-G3 

V. 

Reported  Suffering  of  the  Rebel  Army,  and  Embarrassment 
of  the  Rebel  Government  for  want  of  Supplies,  as  an  Excuse  for 
Denying  Food  and  Clothing  to  United  States  Soldiers — The 
Impossibility  of  there  being  any  such  Deficiency — The  Physical 
Condition  of  the  Rebel  Army  perfect — Facts  drawn  from  Rebel 
testimony 64-74 

VI. 

The  treatment  of  Rebel  Prisoners  at  United  States  Stations 
— The  humane  orders  of  the  Government — Scene  at  Lincoln 
Hospital — Interior  of  the  Station  at  Fort  Delaware — The  Hos 
pital  on  David's  Island — Johnson's  Island — Point  Lookout — 
Tender  care  of  sick  and  wounded  Rebels  at  all  these  Stations — 
Kind  treatment  of  the  wounded  prisoners — Abundant  shelter,  fuel, 
clothing,  and  food  furnished  them — Facilities  for  bathing  and 
exercise — Small  mortality — No  robbing — No  shooting — No  abuse 
— Christian  burial  of  the  dead — The  contrast  of  the  Union  and 
Rebel  prisoners  at  the  moment  of  exchange 75-90 

VII. 

The  three  points  now  investigated — The  conclusion  of  the 
Commissioners — These  privations  and  sufferings  were  designedly 
inflicted — The  late  appeal  to  Divine  and  human  judgment  upon 
"their  cause  by  the  rebel  government — The  spirit  of  that  cause 
identical  with  the  spirit  which  originated  and  defends  it 91-101 


THE   MEDICAL  REPORT...  .  105 


COITTENTS. 


APPENDIX. 


EVIDENCE  TAKEN  BY  THE  COMMISSION. 


EVIDENCE     RELATING     TO     TREATMENT     OF     UNION 
PRISONERS  BY  THE  REBELS. 


EVIDENCE  OF  OFFICERS  AND  SOLDIERS  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  ARMY,  RETURNED  AFTER  CON 
FINEMENT  IN  REBEL  PRISONS. 

TESTIMONY  OF  PRIVATES  AND  NON-COMMISSIONED  OFFICERS  TAKEN  AT 
ANNAPOLIS,  MARYLAND. 

Deposition  of  Private  Joseph  Grider,  Tennessee 129 

Private  Jackson  O.  Broshers,  Indiana 131 

"  Corporal  W.  M.  Smith,  Kentucky 133 

"  Sergeant  A.  P.  Jones,  Massachusetts 134 

"  Private  William  D.  Foote,  New  York..  135,  143 

' '  Private  Robert  Morrison,  Ohio 137 

"  Private  George  Dingrnan,  Michigan 139 

Private  Charles  II.  Allen,  New  York 140 

"  Private  Frank  Eichelberger,  Kansas 141 

"  Private  Daniel  McMann,  New  York 142 

Private  Walter  S.  Smith,  New  York 143 

"  Private  William  W.  Wilcox,  Ohio 145 

"  Private  Hiram  J.  Neal,  Maine 148 

"  Private  Charles  F.  Pfounstiel,  Maryland...  149 


0  CONTENTS. 

TESTIMONY  OF  COMMISSIONED  AND  MEDICAL  OFFICERS. 

Deposition  of  Captain  A.  R.  Calhoun,  Kentucky 151 

Testimony,  by  letter,  of  Lieutenant-colonel  Farnsworth, 

Connecticut 155 

Testimony,  additional,  by  letter,  of  Lieutenant-colonel 

Farnsworth,  C  onnecticut 161 

Deposition  of  Surgeon  Nelson  D.  Ferguson,  New  York...  165 

"  Surgeon  D.  W.  Richards,  Pennsylvania 168 

EVIDENCE  OF  UNITED  STATES  ARMY  SURGEONS  IN 
CHARGE  OF  UNION  HOSPITALS  AT  ANNAPOLIS  AND 
BALTIMORE,  MARYLAND,  TO  WHICH  RETURNED 
UNION  PRISONERS  WERE  BROUGHT  FROM  RlCH- 

MOND,  VA. 

Testimony  of  Surgeon  B.  A.  YanderKieft,  General  Hos 
pital  Division  No.  1,  Annapolis 169 

Testimony,  by  letter,   of  Surgeon  W.   S.  Ely,   General 

Hospital  Division  No.  1,  Annapolis 172 

Testimony  of  Surgeon  G.  B.  Parker,  General  Hospital 

Division  No.  2,  Annapolis 176,  178 

Testimony  of  Surgeon  De  Witt  C.  Peters,  Jarvis  General 

Hospital,  Baltimore 179 

Testimony  of  Surgeon  A.  Chapel,  West's  Buildings  Hos 
pital,  Baltimore 182 

EVIDENCE  OF  EYE-WITNESSES. 

Testimony  of  Miss  D.  L.  Dix 184 

Testimony  of  Joseph  R.  Abbott,  Special  Relief  Agent 

United  States  Sanitary  Commission 188 

Quarterly  Report  of  the  Hospitals  for  Federal  prisoners 

in  Richmond,  by  Surgeon-General,  C.  S.  A 192 


CONTENTS.  9 

EVIDENCE   RELATING   TO   UNITED  STATES  STATIONS 
FOR  REBEL   PRISONERS. 

Letter  from  Quartermaster- General  Meigs,  United  States 

Army 197 

Circular  Orders  of  Colonel  Hoffman,  United  States  Com 
missary-General  of  Prisoners 203 

FORT  DELAWARE. 

Testimony  of  Captain  Gilbert  S.  Clark 199,  212 

"  Captain  S.  R.  Craig 211 

Captain  George  W.  Ahl 212 

"  Lieutenant  A.  G.  Wolf. 214,  218 

"  Surgeon  H.  R.  Silliman 217 

"  Surgeon  Colin  Arrott 219 

Special  Order  to  the  Guard 215 

DAVID'S  ISLAND,  NEW  YORK. 

Deposition  of  Surgeon  Augustus  Yan  Cortlandt 220 

Surgeon  G.  W.Edwards 222 

Surgeon  John  Howe 223 

Surgeon  William  Badger 223 

"  Surgeon  George  Badger 223 

"  Surgeon  A.  K  Brockway 223 

"  Surgeon  William  C.  Pryer 223 

Chaplain  Robert  Lowry 225 


JOHNSON'S  ISLAND,  OHIO. 

Deposition  of  Surgeon  Charles  P.  Wilson  .....................  227 

Surgeon  J.  Woodbridge  .........................  229 

Surgeon  Henry  Evertman  .......................  232 

George  C.  Huntington  ..........................  234 


" 


10  CONTENTS. 

EVIDENCE  OF  REBEL  PRISONERS  RELATING  TO  RA 
TIONS,  CLOTHING,  SHELTER,  AND  HOSPITAL  TREAT 
MENT  IN  THE  REBEL  ARMY,  AND  TO  THEIR 
CONDITION  AT  UNITED  STATES  STATIONS  FOR 
PRISONERS  OF  WAR. 

TESTIMONY  TAKEN  AT  LINCOLN  HOSPITAL,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Deposition  of  W.  H.  Ferguson,  Mississippi 241 

"  W.  0.  Quarles,  Alabama 243 

"  L.  A.  Griffin,  South  Carolina 243 

"  P.  H.  Reese,  Georgia 243 

"  J.  F.  Davidson,  Georgia 244 

"  Yirgil  Carroll,  Virginia 244 

"  S.  P,  Twedy,  Yirginia 245 

"  Joshua  Barker,  South  Carolina 245 

"  C.  A.  Bowman,  North  Carolina 245 


TESTIMONY  TAKEN  AT  DE  CAMP  GENERAL  HOSPITAL,  DAVID'S 
ISLAND,  N.  Y. 


Deposition  of  A.  B.  Barron,  Georgia 246 

"            W.  M.  Farmer,  Georgia 24T 

"            D.  F.  Prince,  North  Carolina 248 

"             Joseph  Whichard,  North  Carolina 249 

"            Michael  Sutton,  North  Carolina 250 

TESTIMONY  TAKEN  AT  FORT  DELAWARE. 

Deposition  of  G.  S.  Holer,  Yirginia 251 

"           Henry  Daniel,  Georgia 251 

"           William  Sharp,  Georgia 252 

J.  S.  Moore,  Mississippi 253 

L.  S.  Crews,  Yirginia 254 

"           K.  D.  Benefield,  Georgia 255 


CONTENTS.  11 


SUPPLEMENT. 

Account  of  the  sufferings  of  Union  Prisoners  of  War,  at 

Camp  Sumter,  Andersonville,  Georgia 259 

Map  of  the  Stockade  Prison  at  Andersonville,  Georgia...  261 

Memorial  of  Union  Prisoners  confined  at  Andersonville, 

Georgia,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States 211 

Letter  of  Major-General  Butler,  United  States  Commis 
sioner  of  Exchange,  to  Col.  Ould,  the  Confederate 
Commissioner 2t  5 


EXTRACTS  from  the  Minutes  of  Proceedings  of  the 
Standing  Committee  of  the  UNITED  STATES  SANI 
TARY  COMMISSION. 

823   BROADWAY,   NEW  YORK. 

May  igtb,  1864. 

Resolved,  That  Dr.  ELLERSLIE  WALLACE,  Hon. 
J.  I.  CLARK.  HARE,  and  the  Rev.  TREADWELL 
WALDEN,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Dr.  VALENTINE 
MOTT,  Dr.  EDWARD  DELAFIELD  and  GOUVER- 
NEUR  M.  WILKINS,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  be  re 
spectfully  requested,  to  act  as  a  Commission  for 
ascertaining,  by  inquiry  and  investigation,  the  true 
physical  condition  of  prisoners,  recently  discharged 
by  exchange,  from  confinement  at  Richmond  and 
elsewhere,  within  the  Rebel  lines ;  whether  they 
did,  in  fact,  during  such  confinement,  suffer  materi 
ally  for  want  of  food,  or  from  its  defective  quality, 
or  from  other  privations  or  sources  of  disease ;  and 
whether  their  privations  and  sufferings  were  design 
edly  inflicted  on  them  by  military  or  other  authority 
of  the  Rebel  Government,  or  were  due  to  causes 
which  such  authorities  could  not  control.  And  that 
the  gentlemen  above  named  be  requested  to  visit 
such  camps  of  paroled  or  discharged  prisoners  as 
may  be  accessible  to  them,  and  to  take,  in  writing, 

(13) 


14:  RESOLUTIONS  OF  STANDING  COMMITTEE. 

the  depositions  of  so  many  of  such  prisoners  as  may 
enable  them  to  arrive  at  accurate  results ;  and  to 
adopt  such  other  means  of  investigation  as  they  may 
think  proper. 

823   BROADWAY,   NEW  YORK. 

May  jiJ"/,  1864. 

Voted  to  request  of  the  Committee  of  Investigation 
on  the  condition  of  exchanged  Union  prisoners,  the 
examination  not  only  of  Union  prisoners,  but  also 
of  some  of  the  Rebel  prisoners,  recently  captured, 
with  reference  to  the  question  whether  they  have, 
while  in  the  Confederate  service,  suffered  like  priva 
tions  to  those  experienced  by  the  Federal  captives. 

The  above,  is  a  correct  copy  from  the  Minutes. 

J.  FOSTER  JENKINS, 
General  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission. 


September,  1864. 

The  COMMISSIONERS  appointed  in  the  foregoing 
Resolution,  by  the  STANDING  COMMITTEE  of  the 
UNITED  STATES  SANITARY  COMMISSION,  respectfully 
submit  the  following  NARRATIVE  AND  REPORT — 
drawn  from  the  mass  of  evidence  collected  by  them, 
and  printed  in  the  Appendix — as  the  result  of 
their  inquiry  and  investigation. 

V.  MOTT, 
EDWD.  DELAFIELD, 
Gouv.  MOR.  WILKINS, 
ELLERSLIE  WALLACE, 
J.  I.  CLARK  HARE, 
TREADWELL  WALDEN. 


(15) 


COPIES 


PHOTOGRAPHS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS, 


AFTER   THEIR   RETURJC   FROM 


IMPRISONMENT  AT  BELLE  ISLE. 


Accurately  Copied  from  the  Original  Photographs  taken  at  United 
States  General  Hospital,  Division  No.  1,  Annapolis,  Maryland  ;  and 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission. 


THE 


NARRATIVE    AND    REPORT 


OF   THE 


COMMISSION. 


(17) 


Reports  of  Cruelties  in  the  Beginning  of  the  War — Mutual  Recrimina 
tion  of  North  and  South — Later  and  more  Authentic  Reports — 
Heart-rending  C®ndition  of  Returned  Prisoners — The  Congressional 
Inquiry — The  Sanitary  Commission  Appoints  a  Commission  of  In 
quiry — Range  of  the  Investigation — Visit  of  the  Commissioners  to 
Annapolis  and  Baltimore — Appearance  of  the  Returned  Prisoners — 
Living  Skeletons — Testimony  Taken  —  The  Claim  of  the  Rebel 
Government  and  People — The  Humane  Principles  of  Modern 
Warfare. 

EVER  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  the  country 
has  been  full  of  painful  rumors  concerning  the  treat 
ment  of  prisoners  of  war  by  the  rebel  authorities. 
Every  returned  prisoner  has  brought  his  tale  of  suf 
fering,  astonishing  his  neighborhood  with  an  account 
of  cruelty  and  barbarity  on  the  part  of  the  enemy. 
Innumerable  narratives  have  also  been  published  and 
widely  circulated. 

The  public  have  been  made  very  uneasy  by  these 
reports.  One  class  have  accepted  them  as  true; 
another  have  felt  them  to  be  exaggerated;  still  another 
have  pronounced  them  wholly  false,  fictions  purposely 

made   and   scattered  abroad   to   inflame   the   people 

(19) 


20  REPORTS  OF  REBEL  CRUELTY. 

against  their  enemies,  and  doing  great  injustice  to  the 
South.  . 

On  the  other  hand,  rumors  have  crossed  the  border, 
of  an  outraged  public  sentiment  in  the  South,  pre 
cisely  on  the  same  account :  reports  abounding  there 
of  cruelty  and  barbarity  to  the  rebel  soldiers  in  our 
hands.  It  has  been  repeatedly  announced  that  what 
ever  restrictions  or  privations  have  been  suffered  by 
Northern  men  in  Southern  prisons,  were  in  retaliation 
for  these. 

In  the  beginning  of  such  a  prodigious  contest,  as 
this  has  proved  to  be,  breaking  out  in  the  midst  of  a 
people  unaccustomed  to  war,  and  quite  removed  from 
extensive  military  traditions  and  examples,  it  was 
natural  that  many  irregularities  should  have  occurred, 
and  many  usages  of  warfare  been  disregarded  on  both 
sides ;  and  that  in  the  matter  of  prisoners  especially, 
where  either  region  was  suddenly  inundated  by  many 
thousands,  great  abuses  should  have  taken  place,  until 
accommodations  could  be  provided  and  arrangements 
perfected. 

But  these  early  days  of  ill-preparation  have  long 
passed  away.  The  war  has  lasted  more  than  three 
years.  Both  sections  have  become  accustomed  to  it, 
and  are  familiarized  with  the  ideas,  habits  and  laws 
of  military  life.  The  passionate  fury  of  one  side  and 
the  patriotic  indignation  of  the  other,  have  had  time 
to  settle  down,  at  least  so  far  as  to  accept  this  condi 
tion,  and  make  every  civilized  provision  known  in 


WRETCHED   CONDITION    OF  THE  RETURNED   CAPTIVES.     21 

modern  warfare,  for  the  mitigation  of  its  horrors  and 
inhumanity. 

And  yet  the  painful  rumors,  so  rife  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  war,  instead  of  subsiding  with  its  early  tumult, 
have  lately  increased  to  an  extent  which  has  seriously 
alarmed  and  aroused  the  public.  The  tales  of  cruelty 
and  suffering  have  become  even  more  heart-rend 
ing.  Months  ago  we  heard  reports  that  our  men 
were  starving  and  freezing  in  the  Southern  prisons. 
In  the  late  temporary  resumption  of  the  cartel,  boat 
loads  of  half-naked  living  skeletons,  foul  with  filth, 
and  covered  with  vermin,  were  said  to  have  been 
landed  at  Annapolis  and  Baltimore.  Men,  diseased 
and  dying,  or  physically  ruined  for  life,  unfit  for  fur 
ther  military  service,  had  been  received  in  the  stead  of 
soldiers  of  the  enemy  returned  in  good  condition,  and 
who  had  been  well  fed,  well  clothed,  and  well  shel 
tered  by  our  government  during  their  captivity. 

But  many  reasons  were  circulated  to  account  for 
such  a  difference.  It  was  alleged  that  these  emaciated 
men  were  the  victims  of  camp  dysentery,  or  similar 
distempers,  and  of  food,  which,  however  good  in 
quality  and  sufficient  in  quantity,  was  averse  to  the 
Northern  constitution.  Again  it  was  alleged  that  the 
rebel  army  was,  itself,  suffering  for  want  of  food  and 
clothing,  and  that  the  very  guards  to  these  prisoners 
had  fared  no  better. 

There  were  many  among  us  who  were  wjjling 
to  credit  any  statement  which  would  mitigate  or 


22     APPOINTMENT  OF  THE  COMMISSION  OF  ENQUIRY. 

excuse  the  infamy  of  permitting  such  a  condition 
of  things.  For  the  sake  of  humanity  and  the 
American  name,  they  hoped  that  the  worst  could 
not  be  proved. 

But  there  were  others  to  whom  the  proof  was 
sufficient,  and  who  were  convinced  that  the  whole 
was  a  horrible  and  pre-determined  scheme,  contrived 
for  the  purpose  of  depleting  our  armies,  and  dis 
couraging  our  soldiers. 

The  attention  of  Congress  was  roused,  and  a  com 
mittee  was  appointed  to  investigate  this,  and  other 
alleged  barbarities.  Their  report  has  just  been  pub 
lished. 

Before,  however,  the  result  of  their  inquiries  was 
known,  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  as  the 
organ  of  popular  humanity  and  philanthropy,  deter 
mined  to  make  an  independent  investigation,  and  such 
a  one  as  would,  if  possible,  put  the  question  at  rest  on 
all  points  upon  which  the  public  mind  was  divided  or 
unsettled,  and  furnish  information  so  full,  and  so  direct 
from  original  sources,  that  every  one  could  arrive  at  a 
just  conclusion. 

They  accordingly  appointed  the  undersigned  as  a 
Commission  of  Inquiry,  partly  because  they  were 
known  to  be  removed  from  any  political  affiliations 
and  prejudices,  and  partly  because  three  of  their  num 
ber  were  supposed  to  be  professionally  competent  to 
read  the  unerring  testimony  of  nature  in  the  physical 
condition  of  the  men. 


MANNER  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION.  23 

t 

Two  distinct  departments  of  evidence  were  thus 
opened. 

In  entering  upon  their  duties  the  Commissioners 
had  no  other  wish  than  to  ascertain  the  truth,  and 
to  report  the  facts  as  they  were.  For  this  they 
endeavored  to  collect  all  the  evidence  within  their 
reach,  and  to  hear  and  record  all  that  could  be  said 
on  every  side  of  the  subject.  They  were  accompanied 
by  a  United  States  Commissioner,  and  in  every  case 
the  testimony  was  taken  on  oath  or  affirmation  before 
him,  or,  in  his  absence,  before  other  officers  equally 
empowered. 

The  mass,  of  evidence,  printed  as  an  Appendix, 
was  collected  during  a  period  of  several  months,  and 
is  now  arranged  and  classified  to  facilitate  the  reader's 
reference.  If  it  had  been  printed  in  the  order  in 
which  it  was  taken,  it  would  have  been  too  irregular 
and  apparently  heterogeneous  to  have  exhibited  the 
total  result  of  the  investigation.  But,  as  it  now 
stands,  it  will  be  found  united  and  homogeneous 
enough  in  the  tragical  story  which  it  tells,  without 
variation  or  self-contradiction,  to  the  country  and  to 
the  world. 

Much  of  the  evidence,  however,  is  made  up  of 
bare  abstracts  of  the  free  and  full  conversations  that 
were  held  with  the  persons  examined,  and  although 
all  the  essential  facts  are  preserved,  yet  many  graphic 
and  pathetic  minor  details  are  omitted  which  escaped, 
or  could  not  enter,  the  formal  record,  but  sometimes 


24  VISIT  TO  ANNAPOLIS  AND  BALTIMORE. 

were  noted  down  by  those  who  were  present. 
Besides  this,  the  Commissioners  were  witnesses  them 
selves,  and  saw  and  heard  enough  to  overwhelm  them 
with  astonishment,  and  remove  the  last  doubt  from 
their  minds. 

For  this  reason,  and  that  the  reader  may  share 
with  them,  so  far  as  can  be,  the  almost  dramatic 
development  of  the  inquiry,  they  send  out  these 
pages,  not  in  the  form  of  a  brief  documentary  report, 
simply  referring  to  the  testimony,  but  as  a  descrip 
tive  narrative,  in  which  all  the  salient  points  of  the 
evidence,  and  the  results  of  their  own  observation,  are 
incorporated  together.  Such  a  narrative  need  be  only 
an  intelligible  grouping  of  material — its  facts  will 
speak  best  for  themselves. 

The  Commissioners,  at  the  very  outset,  were 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  returned  captives. 

They  first  visited  the  two  extensive  hospitals  in  An 
napolis,  occupying  the  spacious  buildings  and  grounds 
of  the  Naval  Academy  and  St.  John's  College,  where 
over  three  thousand  of  them  had  been  brought  in 
every  conceivable  form  of  suffering,  direct  from  the 
Libby  Prison,  Belle  Isle,  and  two  or  three  other 

Southern  military  stations.* 

. , 

*  The  Commissioners  would  acknowledge  the  courtesy  and  hospi 
tality  of  the  accomplished  and  efficient  Surgeon  in  charge  of  the  Hospital 
at  the  Naval  Academy,  Dr.  VanderKieft,  by  whom  every  facility  for 
conducting  the  inquiry  w  is  heartily  given. 


LIVING  SKELETONS.  25 

They  also  visited  the  West's  Buildings  Hospital 
and  the  Jarvis  General  Hospital  in  Baltimore,  where 
several  hundreds  had  been  brought,  in  an  equally 
dreadful  condition. 

The  photographs  of  these  diseased  and  emaciated 
men,  since  so  widely  circulated,  painful  as  they  are, 
do  not,  in  many  respects,  adequately  represent  the 
sufferers  as  they  then  appeared. 

The  best  picture  cannot  convey  the  reality,  nor 
create  that  startling  and  sickening  sensation  which  is 
felt  at  the  sight  of  a  human  skeleton,  with  the  skin 
drawn  tightly  over  its  skull,  and  ribs,  and  limbs,  weakly 
turning  and  moving  itself,  as  if  still  a  living  man ! 

And  this  was  the  reality. 

The  same  spectacle  was  often  repeated  as  the 
visitors  went  from  bed  to  bed,  from  ward  to  ward, 
and  from  tent  to  tent.  The  bony  faces  stared 
out  above  the  counterpanes,  watching  the  passer 
by  dreamily  and  indifferently.  Here  and  there  lajr 
one,  half  over  upon  his  face,  with  his  bed  clothing 
only  partially  dragged  over  him,  deep  in  sleep  or 
stupor.  It  was  strange  to  find  a  Hercules  in  bones; 

to  see  the  immense  hands  and  feet  of  a  young  giant 

• 

pendant  from  limbs  thinner  than  a  child's,  and  that 
could  be  spanned  with  the  thumb  and  finger! 
Equally  strange  and  horrible  was  it  to  come  Upon  a 
man,  in  one  part  shrivelled  to  nothing  but  skin  and 
bone,  and  in  another  swollen  and  misshapen  with; 
dropsy  or  scurvy;  or  further  on,  when  the  surgeon 


26  EVIDENCES  OF   MENTAL  SUFFERING. 

lifted  the  covering  from  a  poor  half  unconscious 
creature,  to  see  the  stomach  fallen  in,  deep  as  a  basin, 
and  the  bone  protruding  through  a  blood  red  hole  on 
the  hip. 

Of  course  these  were  the  worst  cases  among  those 
that  still  survived.  Hundreds  like  them,  and  worse 
even  than  they,  had  been  already  laid  in  their  graves. 

The  remainder  were  in  every  gradation  of  physical 
condition.  Some  were  able  to  sit  up,  and  to  move 
feebly  around  their  bed;  others  were  well  enough  to 
be  out  of  doors ;  many  were  met  walking  about  the 
beautiful  grounds  of  the  Naval  Academy — by  a 
curious  and  probably  accidental  compensation,  on  the 
part  of  the  Government,  swung  to  this  Paradise  on 
the  Severn  from  the  sandy  little  island  in  James 
River  and  its  bleak  and  bitter  winds. 

But  however  unlike  and  various  the  cases  were, 
there  was  one  singular  element  shared  by  all,  and 
which  seemed  to  refer  them  to  one  thing  as  the  com 
mon  cause  and  origin  of  their  suffering.  It  was 
the  peculiar  look  in  every  face.  The  man  in  Balti 
more  looked  like  the  man  just  left  in  Annapolis. 
Perhaps  it  was  partly,  the  shaven  head,  the  sunken 
eyes,  the  drawn  mouth,  the  pinched  and  pallid  fea 
tures — partly,  doubtless,  the  grayish,  blighted  skin, 
rougll  to  the  touch  as  the  skin  of  a  shark.  But  there 
was  something  else:  an  expression  in  the  eyes  and 
countenance  of  utter  desolateness,  a  look  of  settled 
melancholy,  as  if  they  had  passed  through  a  period  of 


THE  HIGH  CLAIM  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  PEOPLE.    27 

physical  and  mental  agony  which  had  driven  the  smile 
from  their  faces  forever.  All  had  it:  the  man  that 
was  met  on  the  grounds,  and  the  man  that  could  not 
yet  raise  his  head  from  the  pillow. 

It  was  this  which  arrested  the  attention  of  some  of 
the  party  quite  as  much  as  the  remarkable  phenomenon 
of  so  many  emaciated  and  singularly  diseased  men 
being  gathered  together,  all,  with  few  exceptions, 
having  been  brought  from  the  same  prisons  in  the 
South. 

Every  one  who  was  questioned  contributed  his  part 
to  swell  the  following  account  of  privation,  exposure 
and  suffering. 

The  vail  is  now  to  be  lifted  from  two  of  the  nearest 
and  most  noted  Southern  stations  for  prisoners.  There' 
appear,  indeed,  occasional  glimpses  of  places  of  cap 
tivity  in  Danville,  Virginia,  and  Andersonville, 
Georgia,  but  the  chief  interest  centres  upon  Libby 
and  Belle  Isle,  at  Richmond. 

Before,  however,  the  narrative  proceeds,  two  things 
must  be  borne  in  mind : 

First,  that  we  are  now  penetrating  into  the  arrange 
ments  of  a  people  who  claim,  and  have  so  far  main 
tained,  their  entire  independence  of  the  United  States 
Government;  who  have  organized  a  government  of 
their  own ;  who  have  also  organized  immense  and 
powerful  armies ;  who  had,  in  the  beginning,  so  far 
prepared  themselves,  and,  during  the  last  three  years, 


28  MODERN  TREATMENT  OF  PRISONERS  OF  WAR. 

have  so  far  completed  their  preparations,  as  to  be  able 
to  match,  and  all  but  overpower  one  of  the  strongest 
military  establishments  ever  known. 

Let  them,  for  the  moment,  be  taken  for  what  they 
claim  to  be :  "  The  Confederate  States  of  America," 
a  mighty  government,  and  a  "  superior  race,"  first  in 
civilization,  in  culture,  and  in  courage,  distinguished 
for  all  that  is  magnanimous,  chivalric,  humane,  hos 
pitable,  and  noble,  for  all  the  graces  and  refinements, 
and  highest  developments  of  individual  and  social  life. 

Furthermore,  another  thing  must  be  borne  in  mind, 
that,  in  these  days  of  civilized  warfare,  the  cowardly 
and  barbarous  usage  no  longer  prevails  of  maltreating 
prisoners  of  war,  but  the  moment  a  conflict  is  over, 
every  sentiment  of  Christianity  and  humanity  rises  to 
mitigate  the  bloody  horrors  of  the  field.  The  distinc 
tion  of  friend  and  enemy  is  no  longer  known. 

The  surgeon,  with  the  high  sense  of  professional 
duty  in  which  he  has  been  educated,  goes  equally  to  all. 
The  prisoners  taken  are  not  thrown  into  dungeons,  nor 
shut  up  in  jails,  but  put  into  barracks.  They  are 
made  as  comfortable  as  the  arrangements  necessary  for 
their  safe  keeping  will  permit.  They  are  sheltered, 
warmed,  fed  and  clothed,  in  all  necessary  respects  as 
well  as  the  soldiers  that  vanquished  and  captured 
them.  They  become,  for  the  time  being,  part  of  the 
military  family  of  their  enemy,  and  are  made  subject  to 
the  same  sanitary  and  other  regulations. 

Their  barracks  are  never  overcrowded;    sufficient 


TKEATMENT   OF    THE   SICK.  29 

area  is  allowed  for  exercise  and  fresh  air ;  so  much 
bathing  is  permitted,  and  even  insisted  upon,  for  the 
sake  of  cleanliness;  their  food  is  in  every  respect  the 
same  as  that  consumed  by  the  army  within  whose 
lines  they  are;  their  clothing  is  all  that  they  need.- 
Such  a  thing  as  robbery  of  their  private  property  is 
unknown,  or  never  tolerated  if  known. 

When  sickness  overtakes  the  prisoner  he  is  removed 
to  the  hospital :  taken  from  his  bunk  and  placed  upon 
a  bed,  and  then,  whatever  distinction  existed  before 
vanishes  entirely :  every  kindness  and  attention,  every 
remedy  and  delicacy  that  a  sufferer  needs,  is  freely  and 
generously  given. 

Such  is  the  high  principle,  and  noble  usage,  which 
prevails  in  modern  warfare.  The  perfection  of  its 
arrangements  is  a  matter  of  pride  and  honor  among 
soldiers,  and  the  proper  boast  of  every  Christian  gov 
ernment 

We  now  turn  to  the  people  and  government  at 
present  waging  war  with  our  Government,  and  who, 
through  a  dead-lock  in  the  cartel,  hold  tens  of  thou 
sands  of  United  States  soldiers  as  prisoners  of  war. 


II. 


Almost  invariable  Robbery  of  Prisoners — Description  of  Libby  Prison — 
Overcrowded  Rooms — Barely  room  to  lie  down — Ragged  and  ver 
minous  Blankets — Shooting  at  prisoners  without  warning — Instances 
of  Shooting  in  Libby — Same  in  Danville  and  Atlanta — Insufficient 
and  disgusting  Rations — Slow  Starvation — Withholding  and  thieving 
of  Boxes  sent  from  the  North— Sufferings  of  the  Officers— The  Cells 
— Inhumanity  to  the  Dead — The  Mining  of  Libby. 

THE  first  fact  developed  by  the  testimony  of  both 
officers  and  privates,  is  that  prisoners  were  almost 
invariably  robbed  of  everything  valuable  in  their 
possession,  sometimes  on  the  field,  at  the  instant 
of  capture,  sometimes  by  the  prison  authorities  in  a 
"quasi  official  way,"  with  the  promise  of  return  when 
exchanged  or  paroled :  but  which  promise  was  never 
fulfilled.*  This  robbery  amounted  often  to  a  stripping 
of  the  person  of  even  necessary  clothing.  Blankets 
and  overcoats  were  almost  always  taken,  and  some 
times  other  articles;  in  which  case  damaged  or 
ragged  ones  were  returned  in  their  stead. 

This  preliminary  over,  the  captives  were  taken  to 
prison. 
f  The   Libby,  which    is    best  known,   though   also 


*  No  instance  of  the  promise  being  kept  appears  in  the  evidence,  but 
there  have  teen  occasions  reported,  though  very  rare,  where  money 
was  returned,  but  even  then  in  depreciated  Confederate  currency. 

(30) 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LIBBT  PRISON.  31 

used  as  a  place  of  confinement  for  private  soldiers, 
is  generally  understood  to  be  the  officers'  prison. 

It  is  a  row  of  brick  buildings,  three  stories  high, 
situated  on  the  canal,  and  overlooking  the  James 
river,  and  was  formerly  a  tobacco  warehouse.  The 
partitions  between  the  buildings  have  been  pierced 
with  doorways  on  each  story. 

The  rooms  are  one  hundred  feet  long  by  forty 
feet  broad.  In  six  of  these  rooms,  twelve  hundred 
United  States  officers,  of  all  grades,  from  the  Briga 
dier-General  to  the  Second-Lieutenant,  were  confined 
for  many  months ;  and  this  was  all  the  space  that 
was  allowed  them  in  which  to  cook,  eat,  wash,  sleep, 
and  take  exercise !  It  seems  incredible.  Ten  feet 
by  two  were  all  that  could  be  claimed  by  each  man — 
hardly  enough  to  measure  his  length  upon ;  and 
even  this  was  further  abridged  by  the  room  neces 
sarily  taken  for  cooking,  washing  and  clothes- 
drying. 

At  one  time  they  were  not  allowed  the  use  of 
benches,  chairs  or  stools,  nor  even  to  fold  their  blan 
kets  and  sit  upon  them,  but  those  who  would  rest 
were  obliged  to  huddle  on  their  haunches,  as  one  of 
them  expresses  it,  "  like  so  many  slaves  on  the  middle 
passage."  After  awhile  this  severe  restrictron  was 
removed,  and  they  were  allowed  to  make  chairs  and 
stools  for  themselves,  out  of  the  barrels  and  boxes 
which  they  had  received  from  the  North. 

They  were  overrun  with  vermin  in  spite  of  every 


32  THE   BOOMS  OVERCROWDED. 

precaution  and  constant  ablutions.  Their  blankets, 
which  averaged  one  to  a  man,  and  sometimes  less, 
had  not  been  issued  by  the  rebels,  but  had  been  pro 
cured  in  different  ways ;  sometimes  by  purchase, 
sometimes  through  the  Sanitary  Commission.  The 
prisoners  had  to  help  themselves  from  the  refuse 
accumulation  of  these  articles,  which,  having  seen 
similar  service  before,  were  often  ragged  and  full  of 
vermin. 

In  these  they  wrapped  themselves  at  night,  and 
and  lay  down  on  the  hard  plank  floor  in  close  and 
stifling  contact,  "  wormed  and  dovetailed  together, 
as  one  of  them  testifies,  "like  fish  in  a  basket." 
The  floors  were  recklessly  washed  late  in  the  after 
noon,  and  were  therefore  damp  and  dangerous  to  sleep 
upon.  Almost  every  one  had  a  cough  in  consequence. 

There  were  seventy-five  windows  in  these  rooms, 
all  more  or  less  broken,  and  in  winter  the  cold  was 
intense.  Two  stoves  in  a  room,  with  two  or  three 
armfuls  of  wood  to  each,  did  not  prove  sufficient  under 
this  exposure,  to  keep  them  warm. 

The  regulations  varied  at  different  periods  in 
stringency  and  severity,  and  it  is  difficult  to  describe 
the  precise  condition  of  things  at  any  one  time,  but 
the  above  comes  from  two  officers,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Farnsworth  and  Captain  Calhoun.  As  it  happens 
they  are  representatives  of  the  two  opposite  classes  of 
officers  confined  in  the  Libby.  The  former  coming 
from  Connecticut,  and  influentially  connected  at  the 


GUAKDS  ALLOWED  TO  SHOOT  THE  PKISONERS.          33 

North,  was  one  of  a  mess  to  which  a  great  profusion 
of  supplies,  and  even  luxuries,  were  sent.  The  latter 
coming  from  Kentucky,  and  being  differently  situated, 
was  entirely  dependent  upon  the  prison  fare. 

These  officers  were  there  during  the  same  season, 
but  never  became  acquainted.  The  accounts  of  each, 
which  will  be  found  in  the  evidence  side  by  side,  are 
here  combined  and  run  together. 

From  their  statements  it  appears  that  the  hideous 
discomfort  was  never  lessened  by  any  variation  in  the 
rules,  but  often  increased.  The  prison  did  not  seem 
to  be  under  ^ny  general  and  uniform  army  regula 
tions,  but  the  captives  were  subject  to  the  caprices  of 
Major  Turner,  the  officer  in  charge,  and  Richard 
Turner,  inspector  of  the  prison. 

It  was  among  the  rules  that  no  one  should  go  with 
in  three  feet  of  the  windows,  a  rule  which  seems  to 
be  general  in  all  Southern  prisons  of  this  character 
and  which  their  frequently  crowded  state  rendered 
peculiarly  severe  and  difficult  to  observe.  The  man 
ner  in  which  the  regulation  was  enforced  was  unjusti 
fiably  and  wantonly  cruel.  Often  by  accident,  or 
unconsciously,  an  officer  would  go  near  a  window, 
and  be  instantly  shot  at  without  warning.  The 
reports  of  the  sentry's  musket  were  heard  almost 
every  day,  and  frequently  a  prisoner  fell  either  killed 
or  wounded. 

It  was  even  worse  with  a  large  prison  near  by, 

called  the  Pemberton  Buildings,  which  was  crowded 

3 


34  INSTANCES   OF  SHOOTING. 

with  enlisted  men.  The  firing  into  its  windows  was  a 
still  more  common  occurrence.  The  officers  had  heard 
as  many  as  fourteen  shots  fired  on  a  single  day.  They 
could  see  the  guards  watching  for  an  opportunity  to 
fire,  and  often,  after  one  of  them  had  discharged  his 
musket,  the  sergeant  of  the  guard  would  appear  a*t 
the  door,  bringing  out  a  dead  or  wounded  soldier. 

So  careless  as  this  were  the  authorities  as  to  the 
effect  of  placing  their  prisoners  in  the  'power  of  the 
rude  and  brutal  soldiery  on  guard.  It  became  a 
matter  of  sport  among  the  latter  "  to  shoot  a  Yankee." 
They  were  seen  in  attitudes  of  expfctation,  with 
guns  cocked,  watching  the  windows  for  a  shot.  But 
sometimes  they  did  not  even  wait  for  an  infraction 
of  the  rule.  Lieutenant  Hammond  was  shot  at  while 
in  a  small  boarded  enclosure,  where  there  was  no 
window,  only  an  aperture  between  the  boards.  The 
guard  caught  sight  of  his  hat  through  this  opening, 
and  aiming  lower,  so  as  to  reach  his  heart,  fired.  A 
nail  turned  the  bullet  upward,  and  it  passed  through 
his  ear  and  hat-brim.  The  officers  reported  the  out 
rage  to  Major  Turner,  who  merely  replied,  "The 
boys  are  in  want  of  practice."  The  sentry  said,  "  He 
had  made  a  bet  that  he  would  kill  a  damned  Yankee 
before  he  came  off  guard."  No  notice  was  taken  of 
the  occurrence  by  the  authorities. 

The  brutal  fellow,  encouraged  by  this  impunity, 
tried  to  murder  another  officer  in  the  same  way. 
Lieutenant  Huggins  was  standing  eight  feet  from  the 


MURDER   OF  A  PRISONER  AT  DANVILLE.  35 


window,  in  the  second  story.  The  top  of  his  hat  was 
visible  to  the  guard,  who  left  his  beat,  went  out  into 
the  street,  took  deliberate  aim,  and  fired.  Provi 
dentially  he  was  seen,  a  warning  cry  was  uttered, 
Huggins  stooped,  and  the  bullet  buried  itself  in  the 
beams  above. 

Very  much  the  same  thing  is  mentioned  as 
happening  in  the  prison  buildings  at  Danville.  A 
man  was  standing  by  the  window  conversing  with 
private  Wilcox.  At  his  feet  was  the  place  where  he 
slept  at  night,  close  under  the  window,  and  where 
his  blanket  lay  rolled  up.  He  had  his  hand  on  the 
casement.  The  guard  must  have  seen  his  shadow, 
for  he  was  invisible  from  the  regular  beat,  and  went 
out  twenty  feet  to  get  a  shot  at  him.  Before  the  poor 
fellow  could  be  warned,  the  bullet  entered  his  fore 
head,  and  he  fell  dead  at  the  feet  of  his  companion. 

Almost  every  prisoner  had  such  an  incident  to 
tell.  Some  had  been  shot  at  themselves  a  number 
of  times,  and  had  seen  others  repeatedly  fired  upon. 
One  testifies  that  he  had  seen  five  hundred  men 
shot  at. 

The  same  brutal  style  of  "sporting"  while  on 
guard,  seems  to  have  prevailed  wherever  the  license 
was  given  by  this  cruel  and  unnecessary  rule.  Cap 
tain  Calhoun,  mentions  that  while  he  and  his  com 
panions  were  on  their  way  to  Richmond  from  North 
eastern  Georgia,  where  they  were  captured,  they 
stopped  at  Atlanta,  and  just  before  they  started,  a 


36  FAMINE  IN  LIBBY. 

% 

sick  soldier  who  was  near  the  line,  beyond  which 
the  prisoners  were  not  allowed  to  go,  put  his  hand 
over  to  pluck  a  bunch  of  leaves  that  were  not  a  foot 
from  the  boundary.  The  instant  he  did  so,  the 
guard  caught  sight  of  him,  fired,  and  killed  him. 

Another  instance  of  equal  skill  in  "  shooting  on  the 
wing,"  will  be  noticed  in  the  case  of  the  soldier  who 
only  exposed  his  arm  an  instant  in  throwing  out 
some  water,  and  was  wounded,  fortunately  not  killed, 
by  the  rebel  bullet.  Something  of  the  same  kind  was 
related  in  the  course  of  conversation,  but  is  not  in  the 
evidence,  as  happening  at  the  Libby,  when  an  officer 
was  shot  while  waving  his  hand  in  farewell  to  a 
departing  comrade. 

But  there  were  cruelties  worse  than  these,  because 
less  the  result  of  impulse  and  recklessness,  and  because 
deliberately  done.  There  opens  now  a  part  of  the 
narrative  which  is  as  amazing  as  it  is  unaccountable. 

The  reader  will  turn  to  the  heart-rending  scenes  of 
famine  which  the  testimony  before  the  Commission 
has  exposed. 

The  daily  ration  in  the  officers'  quarter,  of  Libby 
prison,  was  a  small  loaf  of  bread  about  the  size  of  a 
man's  fist,  made  of  Indian  meal.  Sometimes  it  was 
made  from  wheat  flour,  but  of  variable  quality.  It 
weighed  a  little  over  half  a  pound.  With  it  was 
given  a  piece  of  beef  weighing  two  ounces. 

But  it  is  not  easy  to  describe  this  ration,  it  was 
so  irregular  in  kind,  quality  and  amount.  Its 


BAD  QUALITY  OF  THE  FOOD.  37 

I 

general  character  is  vividly  indicated  by  a  remark 
made  in  conversation,  by  one  of  the  officers:  "I 
would  gladly"  said  he,  with  emphatic  sincerity,  "gladly 
have  preferred  the  horse-feed  in  my  father's  stable." 
During  the  summer  and  the  early  part  of  the  fall, 
the  ration  seems  to  have  been  less  insufficient,  and 
less  repulsive  than  it  afterwards  became.  At  no 
period  was  it  enough  to  support  life,  at  least  in 
health,  for  a  length  of  time,  but  however  inadequate, 
it  was  not  so  to  such  a  remarkable  degree  as  to 
produce  the  evils  which  afterward  ensued. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  last  autumn  that  this  pro 
cess  of  slow  starvation  became  intolerable,  injurious, 
and  cruel  to  the  extent  referred  to.  The  corn  bread 
began  to  be  of  the  roughest  and  coarsest  descrip 
tion.  Portions  of  the  cob  and  husk  were  often  found 
ground  in  with  the  meal.  The  crust  was  so  thick 
and  hard  that  the  prisoners  called  it  iron-clad.  To 
render  the  bread  eatable,  they  grated  it,  and  made 
mush  out  of  it,  but  the  crust  they  could  not  grate. 

Now  and  then,  after  long  intervals,  often  of  many 
weeks,  a  little  meat  was  given  them,  perhaps  two 
or  three  mouthfuls.  At  a  later  period,  they  received 
a  pint  of  black  peas,  with  some  vinegar,  every  week. 
The  peas  were  often  full  of  worms,  or  maggots  in  a 
chrysalis  state,  which,  when  they  made  soup,  floated 
on  the  surface. 

Those  who  were  entirely  dependent  on  the  prison 
fare,  and  who  had  no  friends  at  the  North  to  send 


38  DKEAMS  AND   DELUSIONS   OF  FAMINE. 

y- 

them  boxes  of  food,  began  to  suffer  the  horrible 
agony  of  craving  food,  and  feeling  themselves  day  by 
day  losing  strength.  Dreams  and  delusions  began  to 
distract  their  minds.* 

Although  many  were  relieved  through  the  gene 
rosity  of  their  more  favored  fellow  prisoners,  yet  the 
supply  from  this  source  was,  of  course,  inadequate. 
Captain  Calhoun  speaks  of  suffering  "a  burning 
sensation  on  the  inside,  with  a  general  failing  in 
strength."  "I  grew  so  foolish  in  my  mind  that  I 
used  to  blame  myself  for  not  eating  more  when 
at  home."  "  The  subject  of  food  engrossed  my 
entire  thoughts."  "  Captain  Stevens  having  received 

a  box  from  home,  sat  down  and  ate  to  excess,  and 

. 

*  The  very  same  phenomenon  occurred  during  the  celebrated  Darien 
Exploring  Expedition,  under  Lieutenant  Strain,  some  years  ago.  The 
whole  party  suffered  starvation;  a  number  of  them  died,  and  the 
remainder  were  rescued  when  they  had  become  emaciated  and  debili 
tated  nearly  to  the  point  of  death. 

".From  the  time  that  food  became  scarce  to  the  close,  and  just  in 
proportion  as  famine  increased,  they  revelled  in  gorgeous  dinners. 
Truxton  and  Maury  would  pass  hours  in  spreading  tables  loaded  with 
every  luxury.  Over  this  imaginary  feast  they  would  gloat  with  the 
pleasure  of  a  gourmand."— Darien  Explor.  Exped.,  Harp.  Monthly, 
vol.  x.,  p.  613. 

The  party  separated,  Strain  and  Avery  being  the  least  exhausted  and 
going  on  before  the  others  to  obtain  succor  if  possible. 

"At  length  starvation  produced  the  same  singular  effect  on  them 
that  it  did  on  Truxton  and  Maury,  and  they  would  spend  hours  in 
describing  all  the  good  dinners  they  had  ever  eaten.  For  the  last  two 
or  three  days,  when  most  reduced,  Strain  said  that  he  occupied  almost 
the  whole  time  in  arranging  a  magnificent  dinner.  Every  luxury  or 
curious  dish  that  he  had  ever  seen  or  heard  of  composed  it,  and  he 
wore  away  the  hours  in  going  round  his  imaginary  table,  arranging 
and  changing  the  several  dishes.  He  could  not  force  his  rnind  from  the 
contemplation  of  this,  so  wholly  had  one  idea — food — taken  possession 
of  it."— Darien  Explor.  Exped.,  Harp.  Monthly,  vol.  x.,  p.  7tO, 


SUPPLIES  SENT  FEOM  THE  NORTH  WITHHELD.  39 

died  a  few  hours  afterwards."  "  A  man  had  a  piece 
of  ham  which  I  looked  at  for  hours,  and  would  have 
stolen  if  I  had  had  a  chance." 

One  day,  by  pulling  up  a  plank  in  the  floor,  they 
gained  access  to  the  cellar,  and  found  there  an  abund 
ance  of  provisions :  barrels  of  the  finest  wheat  flour, 
potatoes  and  turnips.  Of  these  they  ate  ravenously 
until  the  theft  was  discovered. 

But  the  most  unaccountable  and  shameful  act  of  all 
was  yet  to  come.  Shortly  after  this  general  diminu 
tion  of  rations,  in  the  month  of  January  last,  the 
boxes,  which  before  had  been  regularly  delivered,  and 
in  good  order,  were  withheld.  No  reason  was  given. 
Three  hundred  arrived  every  week,  and  were  received 
by  Colonel  Ould,  Commissioner  of  Exchange,  but 
instead  of  being  distributed,  were  retained,  and  piled 
up  in  warehouses  near  by,  and  in  full  sight  of  the 
tantalized  and  hungry  captives.  Three  thousand 
were  there  when  Lieutenant-Colonel  Farnsworth 
came  away. 

There  was  some  show  of  delivery,  however,  but,  in 
a  manner  especially  heartless.  Five  or  six  of  the  boxes 
were  given  during  the  week.  The  eager  prisoner,  ex 
pectant  perhaps  of  a  wife's  or  mother's  thoughtful 
provision  for  him,  was  called  to  the  door  and  ordered 
to  spread  his  blanket,  when  the  open  cans,  whether 
containing  preserved  fruits,  condensed  milk,  tobacco, 
vegetables,  or  meats  were  thrown  promiscuously  to 
gether,  and  often  ruined  by  the  mingling. 


40  THIEVING  OF  THE  BOXES. 

These  boxes  sometimes  contained  clothing,  as  well 
as  food,  and  their  contents  were  frequently  appro 
priated  by  the  prison  officials.  Lieutenant  McGinnis 
recognized  his  own  home-suit  of  citizens  clothes  on 
one  of  them,  pointing  out  his  name  on  the  watch- 
pocket. 

The  officers  were  permitted  to  send  out  and  buy  arti 
cles  at  extravagant  prices,  and  would  find  the  clothes, 
stationery,  hams  and  butter  which  they  had  purchased 
bearing  the  marks  of  the  Sanitary  Commission. 

In  one  instance  this  constant  thievery  became  an 
unexpected  advantage  to  the  inmates.  After  the 
famous  "  tunnelling  out,"  by  which  so  many  effected 
their  escape,  the  guards  confessed  that  they  had  seen 
the  fugitives,  but  supposed  that  they  were  their  own 
men  stealing  the  boxes !  The  tunnel,  after  running 
under  the  street,  had  its  outlet  near  where  the  boxes 
were  piled  up. 

All  through  the  winter  and  late  into  the  spring  was 
this  suffering,  chiefly  from  hunger,  prolonged.  There 
is  evidence  of  its  continuance  even  so  late  as  the  month 
of  May  last. 

Surgeon  Ferguson,  who  was  confined  there  at  that 
time  gives  a  most  painful  picture  of  what  he  saw. 

"  No  one  can  appreciate,  without  experience,  the 
condition  of  the  officers  in  the  prison  during  the  twelve 
days  of  my  stay ;  their  faces  were  pinched  with  hun 
ger.  I  have  seen  an  officer,  standing  by  the  window, 
gnawing  a  bone  like  a  dog.  I  asked  him,  '  What  do 


CRUEL  PUNISHMENTS.  41 

you  do  it  forV     His  reply  was,   'It  will  help  fill 
up.' 

"They  were  constantly  complaining  of  hunger; 
there  was  a  sad,  and  insatiable  expression  of  face  im 
possible  to  describe." 

There  is  no  suffering  that  can  be  mentioned  greater 
than  that  of  the  slow  and  lingering  pains  of  famine, 
except  it  be  perhaps  the  agonies  of  absolute  death  from 
hunger — but  of  this  no  Libby  evidence  was  collected. 
The  description  of  Libby  life  might  therefore  end  at 
this  point  so  far  as  having  reached  the  climax  of  all 
possible  misery  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  all  possible 
barbarity  on  the  other.  But  the  testimony  developes 
still  other  instances  of  cruelty,  which  may  as  well  be 
introduced  here,  in  order  to  show  the  animus  of  the 
Confederate  authorities. 

It  is  stated  that  for  offences,  whether  trivial  or 
serious,  the  prisoners  were"  consigned  to  cells,  beneath 
the  prison,  the  walls  of  which  were  damp,  green  and 
slimy.  These  apartments  were  never  warmed,  and 
often  so  crowded  that  some  were  obliged  to  stand  up 
all  night.  It  was  in  these  dungeons  that  the  hostages 
were  placed. 

But  the  inhumanity  was  not  confined  to  the  living. 
It  extended  even  to  the  disposal  of  the  dead.  The 
bodies  were  placed  in  the  cellar,  to  which  the  animals 
of  the  street  had  access,  and  very  often  were  partly 
devoured  by  hogs,  dogs  and  rats.  The  officers  had 
the  curiosity  to  mark  the  coffins  in  which  they  were 


42  DISPOSAL  OF  THE  DEAD. 

carried  off,  to  find  out  whether  they  were  buried  in 
them.  But  they  proved  to  be  only  vehicles  for  bear 
ing  them  away,  returning  a  score  of  times  for  others. 

This  must  have  been  the  case  with  privates  only, 
who  occupied  part  of  the  prison,  as  it  is  mentioned 
that  the  officers  generally  secured  by  contributions, 
made  up  among  themselves,  metallic  coffins  and  a 
decent  temporary  deposit  in  a  vault  for  those  of  their 
number  who  died,  until  they  could  be  removed  to 
the  North. 

One  other  incident  may  be  noticed  which  is  quite 
in  keeping  with  all  the  rest,  but  without  the  foregoing 
catalogue  of  outrages  to  humanity,  would  appear  too 
shocking  to  be  credible. 

At  the  time  Kilpatrick  made  his  nearly  successful 
raid  on  Richmond,  the  city  was  thrown  into  a  panic 
by  his  approach,  and  the  prison  officials  deliberately 
prepared — so  the  story  runs — a  more  expeditious  way 
of  closing  the  career  of  their  prisoners.  It  was  some 
what  more  merciful  than  starvation,  because  it  substi 
tuted  instantaneous  death  for  an  endless  agony  of 
dying.  The  negroes  gave  the  first  intimation  to  the 
captives  of  what  was  going  on.*  Richard  Turner  took 
care  to  dash  the  hopes  of  his  captives,  as  well  as  add 
to  their  anxiety  by  informing  them  that  "  Should  Kil 
patrick  succeed  in  entering  Richmond,  it  would  not 
help  them,  as  the  prison  authorities  would  blow  up 

*  "  Dug  big  hole  down  dar,  massa.    Torpedo  in  dar,  sure  /" 


THE  MIXING  OF  LIBBY.  43 

the  prison,  and  all  its  inmates."  Lieutenant  Latouche 
was  overheard  observing  to  a  rebel  officer  with  whom 
he  had  entered  the  cellar,  where  the  two  hundred 
pounds  of  powder  were  said  to  be  placed,  "  There  is 
enough  there  to  send  every  damned  Yankee  to  hell.' 
Turner  himself  said,  in  the  presence  of  Colonel  Farns- 
worth,  in  answer  to  the  question,  "  Was  the  prison 
mined  V9  "  Yes,  and  I  would  have  blown  you  all  to 
Hades  before  I  would  have  suffered  you  to  be  rescued." 
The  remark  of  Bishop  Johns  is  corroborative  as  well 
as  curious,  in  reply  to  the  question,  "  Whether  it  was 
a  Christian  mode  of  warfare  to  blow  up  defenceless 
prisoners  T  "  I  suppose  the  authorities  are  satisfied 
on  that  point,  though  I  do  not  mean  to  justify  it." 

The  idea  is  so  monstrously  shocking  that  the  mind 
hesitates  to  grasp  it,  or  believe  it.  Many  will  try  to 
see  in  it  only  a  menace  to  deter  any  further  attempt 
to  take  Richmond  by  a  raid.  And  yet  the  evidence, 
even  if  it  does  come  by  rebel  admissions,  has  an  air 
of  diabolical  sincerity.  A  remark  of  Turner's  jus 
tifying  the  act,  which  was  mentioned  to  one  of 
the  commissioners,  but  accidentally  omitted  in  the 
formal  testimony,  gives  quite  a  decided  turn  to 
the  very  natural  probability  that  the  fiendish  plan 
was  resolved  upon :  "  Suppose  Kilpatrick  should 
have  got  in  here,  what  would  my  life  have  been 
worth  after  you  all  got  loose.  Yes,  I  would  have 
blown  you  all  to  Hades  before  I  would  have  suffered 
you  to  be  rescued."  This  was  his  argument  and  self- 


4:4:  THE  MINING  OF  LIBBY. 

justification  in  brief,  though  somewhat  more  at  length 
at  the  time. 

The  act  was  altogether  consistent  with  the  charac 
ters  of  the  three  men  who  had  authority  over  the 
prison: — General  "Winder,  the  Commander  of  the 
Department,  Major  Turner,  Commander  of  the  Prison, 
whose  brutality  is  fully  illustrated  by  his  management 
of  it,  and  Richard  Turner,  Inspector  of  the  Prison,  by 
occupation  a  negro-whipper,  (see  the  testimony  01 
Colonel  Farnsworth,)  and  whose  savage  nature  vented 
itself  in  frequent  acts  of  personal  insult  and  physical 
violence  toward  the  prisoners. 

Be  the  story  true  or  false,  it  is  at  any  rate,  consum 
mately  befitting  and  consistent,  inasmuch  as  the 
strongest  reasons  for  its  probability  may  be  derived 
from  the  other  facts  that  have  now  been  narrated. 
If  true,  it  is  strongly  corroborative  of  the  vindictive 
purpose  which  animates  the  Confederate  authorities. 
History  may  yet  write  it  so,  and  therefore  the  Com 
missioners  do  not  pass  it  over  in  silence  because  of 
any  doubt  that  may  cling  to  it. 

Let  the  spectacle  that,  probably,  came  so  near 
taking  place,  be,  at  least  the  appropriate  crown  and 
close  of  this  portion  of  the  narrative;  the  Union 
raiders,  bounding  over  the  fortifications  of  Richmond, 
intent  upon  rescuing  their  companions  from  a  cap 
tivity  worse  than  death, — and  the  three  great  brick 
buildings  lifted  bodily  into  the  air,  and  let  down  in 
one  stupendous  crush  and  ruin  upon  the  living  forms 
of  twelve  hundred  helpless  men ! 


III. 

Description  of  Belle  Isle — No  shelter  provided  from  the  heat  in  Summer, 
or  from  the  cold  in  Winter — Sufferings  during  the  late  severe  Winter 
— Expedients  to  avoid  Freezing  to  Death — Men  Frozen  to  death — The 
Loathsome  and  inadequate  Food — Men  perishing  from  Hunger — 
Unavoidable  Filth  of  the  Camp  and  of  the  Men  011  account  of  the 
Rules — Neglect  of  the  Sick — Cruelty  to  the  Sick — Incidents  of  cru 
elty  in  Hospitals. 

BUT  there  is  a  still  lower  depth  of  suffering  to  be 
exposed.  The  rank  of  the  officers,  however  disre 
garded  in  most  respects,  induced  some  consideration, 
but  for  the  private  soldiers  there  seemed  to  be  no 
regard  whatever,  and  no  sentiment  which  could 
restrain. 

It  is  to  this  most  melancholy  part  of  their  task  that 
the  Commissioners  now  proceed. 

Belle  Isle  is  a  small  island  in  the  James  river, 
opposite  the  Tredegar  Iron-works,  and  in  full  sight 
from  the  Libby  windows.  It  has  pretensions  enough 
to  beauty  at  a  distant  view  to  justify  its  name,  as  part 
of  it  is  a  bluff  covered  with  trees.  But  the  portion 
on  which  the  prisoners  are  confined,  is  low,  sandy, 
and  barren,  without  a  tree  to  cast  a  shadow,  and 
poured  upon  by  the  burning  rays  of  a  Southern  sun. 

Here   is   an   enclosure,  variously  estimated  to  be 

(45) 


46  THE  PRISONERS   CKOWDED  AND  SHELTERLESS. 

from  three  to  six  acres  in  extent,  surrounded  by  an 
earthwork  about  three  feet  high,  with  a  ditch  on 
either  side.  On  the  edge  of  the  outer  ditch,  all  round 
the  enclosure,  guards  are  stationed  about  forty  feet 
apart,  and  keep  watch  there  day  and  night.  The 
interior  has  something  of  the  look  of  an  encampment, 
a  number  of  Sibley  tents  being  set  in  rows,  with 
"  streets  "  between.  These  tents,  rotten,  torn,  full  of 
holes, — poor  shelter  at  any  rate, — accommodated  only 
a  small  proportion  of  the  number  who  were  confined 
within  these  low  earth  walls. 

The  number  varied  at  different  periods,  but  from  ten 
to  twelve  thousand  men  have  been  imprisoned  in  this 
small  space  at  one  time,  turned  into  the  enclosure 
like  so  many  cattle,  to  find  what  resting  place  they 
could.  So  crowded  were  they,  that  at  the  least, 
according  to  the  estimated  area  given  them,  there 
could  have  been  but  a  space  two  feet  by  seven,  and, 
at  the  most,  three  feet  by  nine,  per  man — hardly  a 
generous  allotment  even  for  a  "  hospitable  grave." 

Some  were  so  fortunate  as  to  find  shelter  in  the 
tents,  but  even  they  were  often  wet  with  the  rain, 
and  almost  frozen  when  winter  set  in.  Every  day 
some  places  were  made  vacant  by  disease  or  by  death, 
as  some  were  taken  to  the  hospital,  and  some  to 
burial. 

But  thousands  had  no  tents,  and  no  shelter  of  any 
kind.  Nothing  was  provided  for  their  accommo 
dation.  Lumber  was  plenty  in  a  country  of  forests, 


EXPOSED  TO  HEAT  AND  COLD.  47 

but  not  a  cabin  or  shed  was  built,  although  the 
commonest  material  would  have  been  a  grateful  boon 
to  the  captives,  and  would  have  been  quickly  and 
ingeniously  employed  by  them. 

This  is  an  established  station  for  prisoners  of  war, 
and  yet  not  a  movement  has  been  made,  from  its 
beginning  to  this  moment,  to  erect  barracks,  or  make 
any  suitable  and  humane  provisions  for  the  comfort 
of  those  confined  there.  It  remains  to  this  day  an 
open  encampment,  close  under  the  walls  of  Richmond, 
and  well  known  to  the  Confederate  authorities,  with 
nothing  but  the  heavens  for  its  canopy. 

Here  then  these  thousands  lay  all  last  summer, 
fall,  and  winter,  with  nought  but  the  sand  for 
their  bed,  and  the  sky  for  their  covering.  What 
did  they  do  in  the  summer  and  early  autumn  with 
the  sickening  heat  of  a  torrid  sun  pouring  upon  their 
unprotected  heads'?  What  did  they  do  when  the 
rain  descended  and  the  floods  came  ?  What  did  they 
suiter  when  the  malarious  fog  enveloped  them,  or 
when  the  sharp  winds  swept  up  the  river,  and  pierced 
their  almost  naked  and  shivering  forms  ? 

Stripped  of  blankets  and  overcoats,  hatless  often, 
shoeless  often,  in  ragged  coats  and  rotting  shirts  they 
were  obliged  to  take  the  weather  as  it  came.  Here 
and  there  a  tent  had  a  fire,  and  the  inmates  gathered 
round  it,  but  the  thousands  outside  shivered  as  the 
cold  cut  them  to  the  bone,  and  huddled  together  for 
warmth  and  sympathy. 


48  FEOZEN"  AND  STARVED  TO   DEATH. 

The  winter  came — and  one  of  the  hardest  winters 
ever  experienced  in  the  South — but  still  no  better 
shelter  was  provided.  The  mercury  was  down  to 
zero  at  Memphis,  which  is  further  south  than  Rich 
mond.  The  snow  lay  deep  on  the  ground  around 
Richmond.  The  ice  formed  in  the  James,  and  flowed 
in  masses  upon  the  rapids,  on  either  side  of  the  island. 
Water,  left  in  buckets  on  the  island,  froze  two  or  three 
inches  deep  in  a  single  night. 

The  men  resorted  to  every  expedient  to  keep  from 
perishing.  They  lay  in  the  ditch,  as  the  most  pro 
tected  place,  heaped  upon  one  another,  and  lying  close 
together,  as  one  of  them  expressed  it,  "like  hogs  in 
winter,"  taking  turns  as  to  who  should  have  the  out 
side  of  the  row.  In  the  morning  the  row  of  the 
previous  night  was  marked  by  the  motionless  forms  of 
those  "who  were  sleeping  on  in  their  last  sleep"' — 
frozen  to  death ! 

Every  day,  during  the  winter  season,  numbers  were 
conveyed  away  stiff  and  stark,  having  fallen  asleep  in 
everlasting  cold.  Some  of  the  men  dug  holes  in  the 
sand  in  which  to  take  refuge.  All  through  the  night 
crowds  of  them  were  heard  running  up  and  down  to 
keep  themselves  from  freezing.  And  this  fate  threat 
ened  them,  even  more  than  it  would  have  threatened 
most  men.  exposed  to  an  equally  severe  temperature, 
even  with  such  thin  clothing  and  inadequate  shelter 
-—for  they  were  starving  ! 

The  very  sustenance  of  animal  heat  was  withheld, 


THE   PKISONERS   RAVENOUS  FOE   FOOD.  49 

and  one  of  the  most  urgent  occasions  of  hunger,  a 
freezing  temperature,  which  makes  the  bodily  neces 
sity  stronger,  and  the  appetite  for  food  greater,  was 
given  full  opportunity  to  make  havoc  among  them. 
So  the  last  stay  and  power  of  resistance  was  taken 
away — the  cold  froze  them  because  they  were  hungry, 
— the  hunger  consumed  them  because  they  were  cold. 
These  two  vultures  fed  upon  their  vitals,  and  no  one 
in  the  Southern  Confederacy  had  the  mercy  or  the 
pity  to  drive  them  away.  Only  once  was  there  heard 
a  voice  of  indignant  remonstrance  in  the  rebel  Con 
gress  from  a  noble-hearted  statesman,  but  it  was  heard 
with  indifference,  and  brought  about  no  alleviation. 

Read  the  rude  words  of  these  suffering  men.  Put 
together  their  testimony,  and  what  a  harrowing  tale  it 
tells ! 

They  were  fed  as  the  swine  are  fed.  A  chunk  of 
corn-bread,  twelve  or  fourteen  ounces  in  weight,  half- 
baked,  full  of  cracks  as  if  baked  in  the  sun,  musty  in 
taste,  containing  whole  grains  of  corn,  fragments  of 
cob.  and  pieces  of  husks ;  meat  often  tainted,  suspi 
ciously  like  mule-meat,  and  a  mere  mouthful  at  that ; 
two  or  three  spoonfuls  of  rotten  beans  ;  soup  thin 
and  briny,  often  with  the  worms  floating  on  the  sur 
face.  None  of  these  were  given  together,  and  the 
whole  ration  was  never  one-half  the  quantity  necessary 
for  the  support  of  a  healthy  man. 

The  reader  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  the 
men  were  ravenous  when  the  rations  were  brought  in, 


50     TOUCHING  EXPKESSIOXS  OF  THE  SUFFERERS. 

nor  remain  unmoved  by  the  simple  and  touching 
expressions  which  fell  from  so  many  of  them : — 

"There  was  no  name  for  our  hunger."  . 

"I  was  hungry — pretty  nearly  starved  to  death  all 
the  time." 

"  I  waked  up  one  night,  and  found  myself  gnawing 
my  coat  sleeve." 

vt  I  used  to  dream  of  having  something  good  to  eat." 

"  I  walked  the  streets  for  many  a  night — I  could 
not  sleep  for  hunger." 

"  I  lost  flesh  and  strength,  and  so  did  the  others, 
for  want  of  food." 

"  If  I  were  to  sit  here  a  week,  I  could  not  tell  you 
half  our  suffering  " 

There  were  other  indications  of  the  desperate 
famine  to  which  they  were  subjected.  They  gnawed 
the  very  bones  which  had  been  thrown  away,  some 
times  breaking  them  up  for  soup.  They  were  glad  to 
get  the  refuse  bread  which  was  occasionally  thrown  to 
them  by  the  guards.  They  even  ate  the  rats  which 
burrowed  in  the  encampment.  A  dog,  belonging  to 
an  officer,  straying  into  the  enclosure  was  caught  and 
secreted,  and  before  he  could  reclaim  his  property,  it 
was  torn  apart  by  the  man  who  stole  it,  some  of  it 
eaten  by  himself,  and  the  remainder  sold  to  his 
comrades. 

So  reduced  were  they,  that  they  exchanged  their 
clothing  for  food,  and  left  themselves  exposed  the 
more  to  the  cold.  Under  the  temptation  to  secure 


DIET,   VEEMIN,   AND   DISEASE.  51 

double  rations,  many  worked  at  their  trades  of  black- 
smithing  and  shoemaking  for  the  rebel  army, 

But  as  the  weary  months  drew  on,  hunger  told  its 
inevitable  tale  on  them  all.  They  grew  weak  and 
emaciated.  Many  found  that  they  could  not  walk ; 
when  they  attempted  it  a  dizziness  and  blindness 
came,  and  they  fell  to  the  ground.  Diarrhoea,  scurvy, 
congestion  of  the  lungs,  and  low  fevers  set  in. 

To  add  to  their  sufferings  there  came  the  unavoid 
able  consequences  of  being  herded  and  crowded 
together,  but  in  this  case  especially  aggravated  by 
a  most  unnecessary  restriction.  A  broad  beach  sur 
rounded  the  island,  and  yet  only  about  seventy-five 
men  were  permitted  to  bathe  per  day  in  the  river,  in 
squads  of  five  or  six  at  a  time.  At  this  rate  it  was 
literally  and  almost  accurately  what  so  many  of  the 
men  state :  that  they  were  allowed  to  wash  themselves 
only  once  in  six  months. 

"  Lice  were  in  all  their  quarters."  Vermin  and  dirt 
encrusted  their  bodies.  They  were  sore  with  lying 
in  the  sand.  None,  not  even  the  sufferers  with  diar 
rhoea,  were  allowed  to  visit  the  sinks  during  the 
night,  and  in  the  morning  the  ground  was  covered 
and  saturated  with  filth.  The  wells  were  tainted; 
the  air  was  filled  with  disgusting  odors.* 

Many  were  taken  sick  daily,  but  were  allowed  to 
suffer  for  days  before  they  were  removed  to  the  hospi- 


*  This  taint  of  the  drinking  water  was  mentioned  in  conversation, 
but  was  accidently  omitted  in  the  evidence. 


52  INHUMANITY  TO   THE   SICK. 

tals,  and  when  this  was  done,  it  was  often  so  late  that 
the  half  of  them  died  before  reaching  it,  or  died  at 
the  very  moment  their  names  were  being  recorded. 

There  was  a  hospital  tent  on  the  island,  which  was 
always  full  of  the  sick.  It  had  no  floor,  the  sick  and 
dying  were  laid  on  straw,  and  logs  were  their  only 
pillows.  "  If  you  or  I  saw  a  horse  dying,"  said  one, 
"wouldn't  we  put  some  straw  under  his  head] 
Would  we  let  him  beat  his  head  on  a  log  in  his 
agony  V9 

When  this  tent  was  full,  the  sick  were  taken  to  a 
hospital  in  Richmond. 

The  poor  creatures  were  often  as  prematurely 
returned,  as  they  had  been  tardily  removed  thither. 
Often  were  they  seen  escorted  back,  so  weak  as 
hardly  to  be  able  to  move,  some  even  crawling  on 
their  hands  and  knees.  Colonel  Ely,  of  the  18th 
Connecticut  saw  one  of  his  men,  a  former  school 
mate  and  townsman,  George  Ward,  a  much  respected 
citizen  of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  returning  to  the 
island  in  this  condition,  with  a  squad  of  others.  He 
threw  him  a  ham,  but  as  the  "poor  fellow  crawled  to 
get  it,"  says  Colonel  Farns worth,  who  also  witnessed 
the  sad  condition  of  an  old  acquaintance,  "  the  rebel 
guard  charged  bayonets  upon  him,  called  him  a 
damned  Yankee,  and  appropriated  the  ham." 

An  incident  which  happened  in  the  very  hospital 
from  which  these  men  were  brought,  will  give  even  a 
better  idea  of  how  the  sick  were  treated. 


HORRIBLE   CONDITION   OF   THE   HOSPITAL.  53 

Two  officers  made  their  escape.  Immediately  all 
the  patients  who  were  able  to  sit  up  or  stand  were 
taken  into  an  empty  room  under  the  Libby,  and  kept 
there  twenty-four  hours,  without  food  or  blankets,  as 
a  punishment  for  not  having  reported  the  contem 
plated  escape.  From  this  treatment  Surgeon  Pierce 
died.  The  officers  in  the  room  above  took  up  the 
floor,  supplied  the  sick  with  food  and  drink,  and 
shared  their  blankets  with  them.  For  this  they  were 
deprived  by  Major  Turner  of  rations  for  a  whole  day. 

A  still  more  vivid  picture  of  a  hospital  interior  is 
given  by  Surgeon  Ferguson.  It  is  of  the  notorious 
and  horrible  Hospital  No.  21,  where,  so  late  as 
in  May  last,  Dr.  Ferguson  says,  a  the  wounded  Union 
prisoners  were  under  treatment,  *  *  *  I  consider," 
he  adds,  "  the  nourishment  and  stimulation  they  re 
ceived  entirely  insufficient  to  give  them  a  proper 
chance  for  recovery.  I  am  surprised  that  more  do  not 
die.  There  were  many  bad  cases  among  them  that 
must  inevitably  sink  under  this  treatment  after  a  few 
days.  The  condition  of  these  men  was  such,  that 
any  medical  observer  would  impute  it  to  insufficient 
stimulation  and  nutrition. 

"  The  bedding  where  the  privates  were  confined  by 
wounds  was  very  dirty;  the  covering  was  entirely, old, 
dirty  quilts;  the  beds  were  offensive  from  the  dis 
charges  from  wounds  and  secretions  of  the  body,  and 
were  entirely  unfit  to  place  a  sick  or  wounded  man  on. 

"On  the  faces  of  the  wounded  was  an  anxious, 


54     HALF  THE  PATIENTS  DIE  IN  THREE  MONTHS. 

haggard  expression  of  countenance,  such  as  I  have 
never  seen  before ;  I  attribute  it  to  want  of  care,  want 
of  nourishment  and  encouragement." 

A  Hospital  Steward,  while  a  prisoner,  attending 
to  some  duty  in  the  hospital,  found,  by  accident, 
the  Confederate  Surgeon-General's  quarterly  report, 
which  he  brought  away  with  him  when  he  was 
paroled.  By  this,  it  appears  that  in  the  months  of 
January,  February  and  March  last,  out  of  nearly 
twenty-eight  hundred  patients,  about  fourteen  hun 
dred — or  half  the  number — died!  This  document 
will  be  found  in  the  appendix.* 

And  what  was  here  done  in  prison  and  hospital,  to 
our  private  soldiers  on  Belle  Isle,  and  to  our  officers 
in  the  Libby,  was  done  nearly  all  over  the  South. 
These  facts  are  most  conspicuous  only  because  in  the 
foreground.  But  from  almost  every  station  in  the 
distant  South,  of  which  anything  is  known,  comes 
the  same  story  of  robbery  and  insult,  of  starvation 
on  food  both  bad  and  insufficient,  of  exposure — in 
the  day  to  heat,  and  in  the  night  to  the  frost — of 
shootings  without  warning,  of  close  and  filthy  rooms 
or  unsheltered  encampments,  of  disease  without 
care  or  medical  treatment,  and  of  deaths  without 
number. 

Danville  has  yet  the  whole  of  its  dreadful  tale  to 
tell.  Andersonville  has  yet  to  account  for  its  average 

*  Page  192. 


BARBARITIES  AT  ANDEESONVILLE.  55 

of  one  liundred  and  thirty  deaths  a  clay,  at  which  rate 
the  whole  of  its  present  number — thirty- five  thou 
sand — will  be  dead  in  a  few  months.* 

The  very  railroads  can  speak  of  inhuman  transpor 
tations  from  one  point  to  another  of  the  sick,  the 
wounded,  and  the  un wounded  together,  crowded  into 
cattle  and  baggage  cars,  lying  and  dying  in  the  filth 
of  sickness,  and  the  blood  of  undressed  wounds. 


*  At  the  very  moment  this  inquiry  is  concluded  and  this  report  is 
being  prepared,  a  memorial  is  brought  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States  by  commissioners  appointed  by  the  prisoners  still  in  confinement 
at  Andersonville,  representing  their  sufferings  and  appealing  for  succor. 
A  statement  is  also  published,  verified  under  oath  by  three  of  these 
soldiers,  who  were  exchanged  August  16th.  These  documents  are 
so  remarkably  corroborative,  in  every  particular,  of  the  results  de 
veloped  by  the  inquiry,  and,  in  some  respects,  represent  a  state  of 
things  so  much  worse  than  at  the  date  at  which  the  investigation  closed, 
that  they  have  been  appended  in  a  supplement,  which  will  be  found,  after 
the  evidence,  on  page  259.  The  frequent  menacing  predictions  of  the 
rebel  press,  and  the  evident  precipitation  of  cruel  measures  upon  the 
prisoners  which  is  exhibited  by  the  testimony  taken  before  the  Com 
mission,  find  a  fitting  confirmation  and  counterpart,  in  this  the  latest 
account  which  has  come  from  a  Southern  prison. 


IV. 

The  men  as  they  appeared  when  brought  on  board  the  flag  of  truce  boat, 
and  into  the  Hospitals — Distressing-  spectacle — Hunger,  nakedness, 
filthiness — Disease  and  death  from  starvation  and  cold — Cries  for 
food — Imbecility  and  insanity  of  many — Opinions  of  the  surgeons — 
The  Medical  Report  of  the  Commission. 

The  Commissioners  do  not  feel  at  liberty,  in  pre 
senting  a  narrative  like  this,  every  fact  of  which  is 
rooted  in  the  appended  testimony,  to  make  any  infer 
ential  statements,  although  there  are  some  incidents 
which  are  as  essentially  connected  with  such  a  state 
of  things,  as  certain  known  effects  are  with  certain 
established  causes.  A  hundred  scenes  of  suffering 
could  be  imagined  and  depicted  by  one  conversant 
with  the  medical  and  other  phenomena  of  famine  and 
exposure  to  cold,  which  would  be  recognized  as  part 
of  their  own  history  by  those  who  saw  or  experienced 
the  wretched  life  led  by  the  prisoners  on  Belle  Isle. 

But,  as  it  has  happened,  the  reader  is  furnished 
•with  vivid  descriptions,  by  eye-witnesses,  of  the  men 
as  they  appeared  at  the  time  of  their  transfer  into  the 
hands  of  the  United  States  Government,  and  they 

have  only   to   be   imagined   back  on   Belle  Isle,   or 
(56) 


DEPLOKABLE   CONDITION   OF  THE   MEN.  57 

\vherever  else  they  had  been,  to  get  all  too  painful  a 
conception  of  what  was  daily  to  be  witnessed  there. 

"  I  have  been,"  said  Mr.  Abbott,  who,  as  special 
agent  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  was  among  the 
first  to  come  in  contact  with  the  returned  prisoners — 
"  I  have  been  on  the  battle-field,  and  in  the  hospitals, 
and  witnessed  much  suffering,  but  never  did  I  experi 
ence  so  sad  and  deplorable  a  condition  of  human 
beings  as  that  of  the  paroled  Union  prisoners  just 
from  Belle  Island,  and  the  rebel  prisons  of  the 
South." 

It  was  his  business,  for  a  period,  to  accompany  the 
flag-of-truce  boat  as  it  plied  between  City  Point,  Vir 
ginia,  and  Annapolis,  Maryland,  bringing  home  thou 
sands  of  the  wretched  men.  The  greater  proportion  of 
them  were  living  skeletons,  and  each  successive  boat 
load  was  in  a  worse  condition  than  the  last.  Hundreds, 
at  each  trip,  were  stretched  on  cots,  sick  with  every  form 
of  disease  which  could  have  been  induced  by  confine 
ment,  exposure,  and  bad  food.  A  number  were  dying ; 
several  died  before  the  boat  landed.  Every  one  was 
in  a  frightfully  filthy  condition.  All  were  deficient  in 
clothing.  Many  were  almost  naked,  and  whatever 
they  had  on  was  ragged  and  dirty.  Their  hair  and 
beards  had  grown  long,  having  been  uncut  for  many 
months.  Their  bodies  were  encrusted  with  dirt,  and 
infested  with  vermin.  One  man  had  convulsions  dur 
ing  a  whole  trip,  caused,  the  surgeon  said,  by  vermin. 
The  vermin  were  very  thick  upon  his  body,  and  he 


58         IMBECILITY  AND  INSANITY  FROM  STARVATION. 

threw  his  attenuated  arms  about,  catching  as  at  lice, 
throwing  them  off,  and  slapping  them  with  his  blanket. 

In  this  state  the  prisoners  were  landed,  and  were 
received  by  the  surgeons  of  Annapolis  and  Baltimore. 

Many  were  so  weak  that  they  had  to  be  carried 
ashore  on  stretchers,  and  died  in  the  brief  transit. 
Others  tottered  to  the  hospital,  with  the  little  strength 
they  had  remaining,  only  to  die  in  a  few  hours.  Some 
of  them  were  found  covered  with  bad  and  extensive 
sores,  caused  by  lying  on  the  sand.  Many  had  lost 
their  reason,  and  were  in  all  stages  of  idiocy  and  im 
becility.*  One  had  become  incurably  insane  in  his 
joy  at  being  delivered. 

Often  they  acted  like  children  and  had  to  be  taught 
again  the  decencies  of  life,  so  long  had  they  been 
unhabituated  to  them.  A  number  had  partially  lost 
their  sight,  hearing,  and  speech.  One  man  was  pointed 
out  to  the  commissioners  who  had  been  so  covered 
by  vermin,  that  after  having  been,  as  was  supposed, 
thoroughly  washed,  his  head  even  being  shaven,  was 
laid  upon  a  clean  bed — in  ten  minutes  the  sheets  and 
his  clothing  were  covered  with  vermin  again.  And 
this  was  not  peculiar  to  him.  It  was  only  an  instance 
of  the  unavoidable  condition  of  all.  In  some  cases 
they  were  so  eaten  by  lice  as  to  very  nearly  resemble 


*  "Wilson  was  exceedingly  debilitated,  and  had  become  perfectly 
childish,  and  almost  idiotic  from  suffering,  and  Strain  feared  that  bad 
effects  might  ensue  if  he  was  permitted  to  eat  as  much  as  he  wished." 
Darien  Explor.  Exped.  Harper's  Month,  vol.  x.,  p.  752. 


THE  RETURNED  CAPTIVES  BEGGING  FOR  FOOD.    59 

a  case  of  scabbing  from  small  pox,  being  covered 
with  sores  from  head  to  foot. 

Many  had  been  badly  frost-bitten,  and  came  ashore 
with  feet  partially  amputated.  In  one  case  it  was 
mentioned  to  the  visitors  that  a  frozen  foot  fell  off  as 
the  man  was  being  carried  ashore! 

Without  exception  they  were  ravenous  for  food. 
Their  cries  for  something  to  eat  were  pitiful  to  hear. 
The  surgeons  had  to  restrain  their  voracity,  and  keep 
them  on  small  quantities  of  liquid  food  lest  they  should 
kill  themselves  by  over-eating,  or  by  eating  solid  food. 
They  would  often  entreat  for  the  sight  of  an  apple  or 
a  piece  of  meat,  that  they  might  enjoy  at  least  the 
vision  of  what  they  could  not  have. 

It  was  their  invariable  reply  in  answer  to  the  ques 
tion  "What  was  the  matter?'  "That  they  had  been 
starved,  exposed,  and  neglected  on  Belle  Isle." 

The  surgeons,  themselves,  were  unanimous  in  their 
opinion  as  to  the  cause  of  their  condition,  not  only 
from  the  uniform  story  of  the  men,  but  from  the 
characteristics  of  the  different  diseases,  the  revela 
tions  of  the  post-mortem  examination,  and  especially, 
and  most  conclusively  of  all,  the  invariable  treatment 
which  proved  most  efficacious,  namely:  not  medica 
tion,  but  simple  nutrition  and  stimulation. 

They  all  agreed  in  attributing  the  condition  of  the 
men  to  one  or  more  of  the  following  causes :  Depriva 
tion  of  clothing;  insufficient  food,  in  quantity  and 


60  OPINIONS    OF   THE    SURGEONS. 

quality ;  want  of  fresh  air  on  account  of  over-crowd 
ing  ;  consequent  and  unavoidable  uncleanliness ;  want 
of  adequate  shelter  during  the  fall  and  winter ;  and 
mental  depression  the  natural  result  of  all. 

The  reader  will  be  impressed  by  the  emphatic  utter 
ances  of  the  surgeons : 

SURGEON  VANDERKIEFT. — "  Their  condition  is  on 
account  of  ill-treatment  by  starvation  and  exposure, 
as  I  am  convinced  is  the  case  by  their  actual  condition 
on  their  arrival,  and  by  rations  shown  to  me.  That 
the  men  must  have  been  in  good  health  when  cap 
tured,  I  do  not  need  such  a  statement,  as  I  am  well 
acquainted  with  the  regulations  which  govern  the 
medical  department  of  our  army,  'to  send  to  the  rear 
every  man  who  is  not  perfectly  able  to  bear  arms.'  *  *  * 
"The  diseases  most  common  among  these  returned 
prisoners  are  scurvy,  diarrhoea,  and  congestion  of  the 
lungs,  which  are  not  amenable  to  the  ordinary  treat 
ment  in  use  in  civil  life,  or  in  hospitals  of  our  own 
army;  they  are  most  successfully  mastered  by  high 
nutrition  and  stimulation,  with  cleanliness  and  fresh 
air — medicinal  treatment  being  of  small  assistance  iu 
the  recovery  of  the  sufferers,  and  often  being  entirely 
dispensed  with,  *  *  *  thus  proving  by  the  counter 
acting  effect  of  good  food,  air,  cleanliness,  and  stimu 
lants,  that  these  disorders  are  the  result  of  the  causes 
above  stated." 

SURGEON  ELY. — Speaking  of  the  dead  whom  he 
had  found  on  the  boats  as  they  landed,  "  No  words  can 


CONDITION  CAUSED  BY  STARVATION   AND  EXPOSURE.     61 

describe  their  appearance.  In  each  case  the  sunken 
eye,  the  gaping  mouth,  the  filthy  skin,  the  clothes  and 
head  alive  with  vermin,  the  repelling  bony  contour, 
all  conspired  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  we  were 
looking  upon  the  victims  of  starvation,  cruelty,  and 
exposure,  to  a  degree  unparalleled  in  the  history  of 
humanity.  Nearly  every  instance  leads  us  irresistibly 
to  the  conclusion  that  death  has  been  owing  to  a  long 
series  of  exposures  and  hardships,  with  a  deprivation 
of  the  barest  necessities  of  existence. 

"  In  many  cases  that  I  have  observed  the  dirt  in 
crustation  has  been  so  thick  as  to  require  months  of 

i 

constant  ablutions  to  recover  the  normal  condition  and 
function  of  the  integuments.  Patients  have  repeatedly 
stated  in  answer  to  my  interrogatories  that  they  had 
been  unable  to  wash  their  bodies  once  in  six  months, 
that  all  that  time  they  had  lain  in  the  dirt.  *  *  *  In 
many  instances  this  is  the  prime,  exciting  cause  of  the 
diseases  of  the  pulmonary  and  abdominal  organs 
which  are  so  constantly  found  among  our  Richmond 
patients."* 

SURGEON  PARKER. — "  The  majority  of  the  diseased 
cases  were  diarrhoea,  caused  by  bad  diet,  of  insuffi 
cient  and  bad  quality.  They  have  resulted  from  the 
want  of  variety  of  diet.  I  found  nutrition  was  the 
most  successful  treatment.  I  do  not  consider  the 


*  See  his  evidence  for  a  report  at  length  of  the  results  of  the  post 
mortem  examinations.     Appendix  p.  172. 


62  EESULTS   OF   POST-MOBTEM  EXAMINATIONS. 

(rebel)  rations,  I  have  seen,  sufficient  for  the  support 
of  life  for  any  long  time." 

SURGEON  PETERS. — "The  post-mortems  have  made 
apparent  diseases  of  nearly  all  the  viscera  to  a  remarka 
ble  extent.*):  Under  a  spare  but  concentrated  diet 
many  have  rallied.  In  one  instance  a  boy  gained 
fifty  pounds  in  two  weeks.  I  think  nine-tenths  of 
the  men  weighed  under  one  hundred  pounds.  They 
had  an  uncontrollable  appetite." 

SURGEON  CHAPEL.  —  "We  were  obliged  to  treat 
them  as  children  in  regulating  their  diet,  having  to 
restrain  their  over-eating,  and  confine  them  to  a 
concentrated,  but  nourishing  and  generous  diet. 
Several  cases  had  no  disease  whatever,  but  suffered 
from  extreme  emaciation  and  starvation  * 
All  gave  evidence  of  extensive  visceral  disease,  of 
which  starvation,  cold  and  neglect  were  undoubtedly 
the  primary  cause.  Some  of  the  cases  sank  from 
extreme  debility,  without  any  evidence  of  disease  as 
the  cause  of  death." 

The  professional  opinions  of  these  gentlemen,  and 
the  other  incidental  medical  testimony  scattered 
through  the  appendix,  will,  without  doubt,  be  received 
with  great  weight  by  the  reader.  But,  after  all,  the 
evidence  of  the  men  themselves,  rudely  and  abruptly 
worded,  and  so  often  unconsciously  graphic  and 


t  See  Dr.  Carpenter  on  Starvation,  where  fifty-two  per  cent,  of  the 
starved  were  thus  affected. 


THE  MEDICAL    KEPORT.  63 

pathetic,  will  come  more  convincingly  to  the  popular 
heart. 

It  will  be  enough  for  most  people  that  the  captives 
were  hungry  day  a#d  night,  and  suffered  the  gnaw 
ing  pains  of  famine,  with  its  dreams  and  delusions. 
It  will  be  enough  that  they  became  weak  and  emacia 
ted  to  the  degree  in  which  they  were  found  when 
exchanged.  It  will  be  enough  that  they  were 
poisoned  by  foul  air  and  over-crowding ;  and  that  they 
were  exposed  in  the  depth  of  winter,  to  the  cold, 
without  shelter  and  without  covering.  It  will  be 
enough  that  thousands  of  them  became  hideously 
diseased,  and  that  most  of  them  miserably  perished. 

People  do  not  need  any  other  information  in  the 
face  of  such  facts  as  these  in  order  to  come  to  a  just 
conclusion,  and  yet,  there  4s  a  certainty  and  a  satisfac 
tion  in  scientific  facts,  and  in  the  testimony  of  nature, 
which  ought  to  be  recognized  in  an  investigation  like 
this. 

For  this  reason  the  commissioners  made  the  inves 
tigation  also  a  scientific  one,  and  append  a  medical 
statement,  prepared  at  their  request  by  one  of  their 
number,  drawn  likewise  from  the  evidence,  the  facts 
and  arguments  of  which  are  fully  endorsed  by  the 
medical  members  of  the  commission. 


V. 


Reported  Suffering  of  the  Rebel  Army,  and  Embarrassment  of  the 
Rebel  Government  for  want  of  Supplies,  as  an  Excuse  for  Denying 
Food  and  Clothing  to  United  States  Soldiers — The  Impossibility 
of  there  being  any  such  Deficiency — The  Physical  Condition  of  the 
Rebel  Army  perfect — Facts  drawn  from.  Rebel  testimony. 


It  has  been  said,  and  has  been  the  general  impres 
sion,  that  the  rebel  government  was  itself  embarrassed 
for  want  of  supplies — that  its  own  soldiers  were  naked 
and  hungry,  and  that  even  the  prison  guards  shared 
the  privations  of  the  prisoners. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  excuse,  urged  strenu 
ously  by  their  friends,  and  half  accepted  by  every  one 
disposed  to  be  moderate  and  just,  after  all,  only  accounts 
for  a  small  portion  of  the  conduct  of  the  rebels  to 
their  captives. 

Why  were  they  robbed  of  their  private  pro 
perty  :  the  money,  and  the  few  trinkets  a  man 
usually  carries  with  him  ]  Or,  if  this  was  the  uncon 
trollable  habit  of  a  wild  soldiery,  why  was  it  the  regu 
lar  proceeding  of  the  Libby  authorities  on  the  entrance 

of  an  officer  ?     Why  was  it  often  done  with  brutal 
(64) 


UNNECESSARY  ACTS   OF   CRUELTY.  65 

violence,  when  the  person  undergoing  the  process 
expostulated  I 

By  whose  connivance  were  the  supplies  of  food 
and  clothing,  sent  from  the  North,  stolen  1  By 
whose  neglect,  or  by  whose  order,  were  they  with 
held  in  immense  quantities  from  men  palpably  starv 
ing  and  freezing'? 

How  is  it  that — after  three  years  of  war,  during 
which  everything  military  had  grown  colossal  and 
correspondingly  complete,  with  them,  as  with  us, — 
that  no  extensive  barracks,  even  of  the  cheapest 
and  frailest  kind,  offering,  at  least,  space  to  move  in, 
and  shelter  from  the  weather,  were  not  erected ; 
but  that  open  encampments,  or  city  warehouses  too 
small  for  such  occupation,  continue  in  use  to  this 
day'? 

How  is  it  that,  even  under  such  circumstances, 
supposing  them,  for  some  reason,  unable  to  have 
done  better,  they  made  rules  circumscribing  the  pris 
oners  still  further,  exposing  them  to  the  poison  of 
foul  air,  generated  by  unavoidable  personal  unclean- 
liness,  and  by  the  equally  unavoidable  accumulations 
of  filth  under  certain  conditions  of  disease,  for  which 
either  no  provision  was  made,  or  if  made,  they  were 
capriciously  prevented  from  using]* 


*  "  Sometimes  we  were  allowed  to  go  to  the  privy,  and  sometimes 
we  were  not.  We  have  been  kept  from  it  so  much  as  three  days,  until 
we  fouled  the  floor.  Appendix,  page  181. 

* '  After  we  tunneled  out,  we  were  only  allowed  to  go  to  the  privy  six 

5 


66  STILL   OTHERS  ENUMERATED. 

Why,  when  over- crowding  a  building  with  cap 
tives,  did  they  make  an  imaginary  boundary  line, 
two  or  three  feet  inside  the  windows,  to  be  observed 
under  penalty  of  instant  death  *?  How  is  it  that  the 
guards  were  not  only  permitted,  by  this  regulation, 
to  amuse  themselves  with  taking  the  lives  of  the 
prisoners,  upon  certain  given  opportunities,  but  were 
negatively  encouraged  even  to  murder  and  assassina 
tion,  by  the  indifference  of  the  prison  authorities  ? 

And  is  there  anything  to  account  for  the  condition 
of  their  hospitals  for  prisoners'?  Even  supposing 
them  to  be  ill-supplied  with  medicines,  there  were 
common  remedies,  easily  at  hand,  which  were  seldom 
administered — or  supposing  them  to  be  ill-furnished 
with  hospital  comforts,  even  with  sheets  and  bedding, 
there  W7as  no  necessity  for  placing  the  wounded,  as  well 
as  the  sick,  on  beds  too  foul  to  approach,  and  afterward 
made  still  more  offensive  by  the  permitted  accumula 
tions  of  the  secretions  and  putrid  discharges  of  the 
patient. 

Why,  also,  when  their  arrangements  induced  so  much 
sickness  and  disease,  did  they  leave  the  men  to  suffer, 
often  for  weeks,  before  they  removed  them,  (and  then 
like  sink  animals,)  from  the  encampment  or  the  prison 


at  a  time  ;  the  floor  was  in  one  mess — filthy  ;  an  ordinary  one  horse 
wagon-ioad  of  human  excrement  on  the  floor  every  morning."  Ap 
pendix,  page  147. 

"  Tbe  enclosure  on  Belle  Isle  was  a  mass  of  filth  every  morning, 
from  the  inability  of  the  men  to  proceed  to  the  sinks  after  evening/' 
Appendix,  page  140. 


NO  EXCUSE  FOR  SUCH  THINGS  POSSIBLE.  67 

to  the  hospital,  often  to  die  on  the  way,  or  as  soon  as 
they  were  put  in  the  hands  of  a  physician  I  Why  did 
they  discharge  them  when  so  feeble  that  they  reeled 
back  to  the  place  of  captivity,  and  even  had  to  crawl 
thither  on  their  hands  -and  knees  1  Or  why,  as  in  one 
instance,  (and  one,  under  such  circumstances,  may  be 
many,)  did  they  subject  them,  even  before  they  were 
convalescent  and  discharged,  to  such  a  punishment  as 
confinement  in  a  cell,  exposure  to  cold,  and  deprivation 
of  food] 

These  grave  developments  of  the  testimony,  by 
no  means  new  to  many  at  the  North,  and  occasionally 
the  subject  of  newspaper  report,  (though  never  in 
such  detail  as  now  related,)  have  as  yet  elicited  no 
excuse  or  explanation ;  and  until  an  excuse  or  expla 
nation  comes,  the  government  by  whom  such  things 
are  authorized,  and  the  people  by  whose  public  senti 
ment  such  things  are  encouraged,  will  stand  arraigned 
for  almost  immeasurable  inhumanity  and  criminality 
before  the  civilized  world. 

But  it  is  important  that  this  matter  of  famine  and 
freezing,  suffered  by  our  men,  should  take  more  than 
a  negative  place  among  the  foregoing  positive  facts, 
as  half  explained  away,  if  it  should  appear  that  neither 
were  necessary  or  unavoidable. 

These  are  the  two  worst  developments  of  the 
inquiry — the  facts  cannot  be  denied,  for  no  evidence 
was  ever  more  closely  knit  in  support  of  anything 
and  the  question,  therefore,  lies  open:  Were  the 


68     FURTHER  INVESTIGATIONS  INTO  REBEL   RESOURCES. 

people  who  were  capable  of  these  other  unaccountable 
and  inexcusable  acts,  capable,  also,  of  deliberately 
withholding  necessary  food  from  their  prisoners  of  war, 
and  furnishing  them  with  what  was  indigestible  and 
loathsome,  when  their  own  army  was  abundantly  sup 
plied  with  good  and  wholesome  food]  Were  they 
capable,  also,  not  only  of  depriving  their  prisoners  of 
their  own  clothing,  but  also  of  withholding  the  issue 
of  sufficient  to  keep  them  warm,  when  the  soldiers  of 
their  own  army  were  well-equipped,  and  well-protected 
from  exposure  to  the  wet  and  cold  ] 

But  the  inquiry  cannot  stop  at  this  point.  If  they 
were  capable  of  this,  then  they  were  capable  of  be 
holding,  without  compassion,  their  fellow  beings  sub 
jected  to  the  worst  and  most  lingering  agonies  which 
humanity  can  endure.  Putting  together  the  act,  and 
this  insensibility  to  its  consequences,  what  other 
deduction  can  be  drawn,  than  that  all  was  a  pre 
determined  plan,  originating  somewhere  in  the  rebel 
counsels,  for  destroying  and  disabling  the  soldiers  of 
their  enemy,  who  had  honorably  surrendered  in  the 
field] 

And  has  it  come  to  this]  Has  the  oft- threatened 
black  flag,  the  signal  of  a  foe  that  has  no  mercy  and 
gives  no  quarter,  been  floating  all  this  time,  not  cour 
ageously  on  the  battle  field,  but  over  prisons  and  hospi 
tals  in  the  South,  full  of  surrendered  and  helpless  men  ] 

The  commissioners,  from  the  outset,  considered  this 
department  of  their  investigation  to  be  fully  as  im- 


RESOURCES   OF  THE   REBEL   GOVERNMENT.  69 

portant  as  tlie  other,  and  were  at  equal  pains  to  leave 
it  no  longer  a  matter  of  doubt  whether  or  not  the 
rebel  government  was  unable  to  provide  their  prisoners 
with  food  and  clothing,  good  and  sufficient. 
j  One  fact  was  evident  on  the  face  of  things,  that 
no  army  could  have  endured  such  forced  and  violent 
marches,  the  fatigues  and  exposures  of  such  desperate 
campaigning,  and  have  kept  up  a  spirit  for  such  indom 
itable  fighting,  unless  they  had  been  well-equipped, 
and  their  physical  condition  had  been  maintained  by 
every  means,  medical  and  commissary,  known  in  a 
well  regulated  army. 

The  rebel  authorities  could  not  afford  to  swell  their 
army  by  conscription  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  let  the 
material,  thus  obtained,  escape  its  military  use,  by 
famine  and  disease  on  the  other.  The  same  arbitrary 
energy  which  could  enforce  the  one,  could  provide 
against  the  other. 

Nor  are  the  quotations  of  Confederate  prices  any 
criterion  by  which  to  judge.  The  country  is  rich  and 
fertile,  if  the  Confederate  currency  is  inflated  and 
poor.  Every  agricultural  resource  of  a  soil  and 
\  climate,  unsurpassed  by  any  other  in  the  world,  has 
been  quickened  to  meet  the  emergency.  The  neces 
sity  has,  also,  in  three  years,  developed  other  and 
unknown  fountains  of  supply — all  at  the  command  of 
a  strong,  desperate,  and  despotic  government,  which 
has  not  hesitated  to  employ  every  means  to  keep  its 
armies  on  the  most  perfect  military  footing. 


70  KEBEL   GUARDS  WELL  FED. 

This  reasoning  is  borne  out  by  the  facts  developed 
in  the  inquiry.  The  testimony  will  be  found  to  be 
quite  a  revelation  of  the  rebel  mode  of  sustaining  an 
army  and  a  war.  Their  efficiency  in  this  respect  must 
be  admitted — an  efficiency  created  partly  by  a  greater 
aptitude  and  inclination  for  the  single  art  of  war,  than 
for  the  many  arts  of  peace ;  and  partly  by  the  deadly 
necessity  they  are  under  for  the  most  strenuous  pos 
sible  defence  of  their  rebellion,  on  account  of  the  ex 
traordinary  power  developed  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States. 

It  appears,  from  the  testimony,  that  the  guards 
of  the  prisoners  (of  whose  privations  so  much  has 
been  said)  were  better  supplied  with  food  than  the 
prisoners.  The  question  was  frequently  asked,  and 
elicited  the  invariable  reply,  that  they  did  not 
share  the  same  ration.  Their  supply  was  of  a  dif 
ferent  character,  and  was  enough.  Sometimes  they 
threw  fragments  of  food  to  the  hungry  captives  on 
Belle  Isle.  It  will  be  remembered,  that  at  the  time 
the  Libby  prisoners  were  so  insufficiently  fed,  a  room 
in  the  cellar  was  found  stocked  with  provisions  of 
excellent  quality. 

But  no  testimony  on  this  point  can  be  so  satisfac 
tory  as  that  derived  from  the  rebel  soldiers  them 
selves. 

Several  of  the  commissioners  went  directly  from  An 
napolis  to  Washington  for  the  express  purpose  of  visit 
ing  and  examining  the  rebel  prisoners.  They  found  a 


TESTIMONY  OF  REBEL   SOLDIERS.  71 

large  number  at  the  Lincoln  Hospital.  Although  these 
prisoners  were  suffering  from  wounds  received  in  the 
late  battles  of  the  Wilderness  and  Spottsylvania,  they 
were  in  a  physical  condition  which  alone  was  evidence 
enough  of  the  care  that  had  been  taken  of  them  by 
their  own  government.  In  every  case  they  were 
healthy,  hardy,  vigorous  men.  There  was  scarcely  a 
trace  even  of  the  terrible  fatigue  they  had  so  recently 
endured.  Better  than  all,  as  an  indication  of  their 
condition,  their  wounds  were  healing  as  only  the 
wounds  of  men  in  perfect  health  can  heal. 

Nine,  out  of  the  whole  number,  were  examined 
under  oath.  The  formal  testimony  stopped  at  this 
number,  as  it  was  found  by  conversation,  that  all  had 
the  same  account  to  give,  and  it  was  needless  to  mul 
tiply  depositions.  They  came  from  six  of  the  prin 
cipal  States  of  the  Confederacy. .  Two  were  from 
Virginia,  two  from  South  Carolina,  two  from  Georgia, 
one  from  Mississippi,  one  from  North  Carolina,  and 
one  from  Alabama. 

In  order  to  make  the  inquiry  more  complete  and 
satisfactory,  certain  members  of  the  Commission  after 
wards  visited  Fort  Delaware,  and  the  Hospital  on 
David's  Island,  New  York,  at  both  which  stations 
rebels  were  confined,  and  the  testimony  of  eleven 
more  was  procured.  The  men  were  from  Virginia, 
Georgia,  North  Carolina  and  Mississippi. 

The  evidence  of  these  three  separate  sets  of  wit 
nesses,  which  has  been  placed  together,  was  given  with- 


72       WELL   FED,    CLOTHED,   WARMED  AND   SHELTERED. 

out  hesitation,  and  is  uniform  and  reliable.  Any 
amount  of  such  could  have  been  procured,  but  that 
which  has  been  taken  will  be  found  full  enough. 

The  result  of  the  whole  amounts  to  this :  In  the 
words  of  one  of  them — "  They  had  nothing  to  com 
plain  of  in  the  way  of  food  and  clothing."  They 
were  supplied  with  rations,  only  a  few  ounces  less 
than  the  over-generous  ration  of  the  United  States 
army. 

The  quality  of  the  rebel  ration  was  as  satisfactory 
to  the  rebels  as  the  quantity.  The  corn-bread  was 
excellent,  made  by  themselves  from  fine  meal.  One 
of  them  naively  observed  that  he  preferred  it  to 
Northern  meal !  They  had  never  had  any  meal  fur 
nished  them  of  that  quality  which  was  ground  with 
the  cobs  and  husks,  and  in  which  whole  grains  of 
corn  occasionally  appeared.  This  inferior  kind,  they 
said,  was  "  given  to  stock." 

The  only  time  in  which  they  suffered  any  privation 
was  on  a  forced  march,  when  they  were  in  advance 
of  their  supplies — a  matter  liable  to  occur  in  any 
army. 

In  winter  they  lived  in  cabins  or  tents,  well 
warmed,  and  well  supplied  with  fuel.  None  ever 
suffered  from  the  cold.  In  summer  they  were  shel 
tered  by  tents,  but  these  they  left  behind  when  on 
a  campaign.  They  were  fully  supplied  with  clothing 
and  with  blankets  or  oilcloths.  A  requisition  on  the 
quartermaster  could  always  procure  any  article  that 


REBEL  HOSPITALS  FOE  THEIK  OWN  MEN  WELL  KEPT.      73 

was  necessary.  When  engaged  in  active  service, 
however,  they  carried  as  little  as  possible,  only  the 
clothes  they  had  on  and  a  single  blanket,  but  no  man 
was  restricted  as  to  the  amount  he  might  carry.  It 
may  be  imagined  what  a  condition  they  were  in,  under 
this  system,  as  respects  dirt,  vermin,  and  rags,  after  a 
long  campaign  and  a  pitched  battle. 

They  describe  the  hospitals,  both  in  the  city  and 
in  the  field,  as  comfortable,  and  with  sufficient  medical 
attendance.  The  bedding  and  sheets  in  Hospital 
No.  4,  in  Richmond,  was  said  by  one  of  them  to  be 
fully  as  good  as  those  on  David's  Island,  New  York. 
There  were  also  the  usual  delicacies  for  the  sick. 

From  all  this,  it  appears  that  the  Southern  army 
has  been,  ever  since  its  organization,  completely 
equipped  in  all  necessary  respects,  and  that  the  men 
have  been  supplied  with  everything  which  would 
keep  them  in  the  best  condition  of  mind  and  body, 
for  the  hard  and  desperate  service  in  which  they 
were  engaged.  They  knew  nothing  of  famine  or 
freezing.  Their  wounded  and  sick  were  never 
neglected. 

So  do  the  few  details  of  fact  that  could  be  extracted, 
without  suspicion  of  their  object,  from  the  soldiers 
of  the  Southern  army,  confirm  the  reasoning  which 
accounts  for  its  efficiency. 

The  conclusion  is  inevitable.  It  was  in  their 
power  to  feed  sufficiently,  and  to  clothe,  whenever 
necessary,  their  prisoners  of  war.  They  were  per 
fectly  able  to  include  them  in  their  military  estab- 


74      ABLE  TO  FEED,   CLOTHE,   AND  SHELTER  PRISONERS. 

lishment ;  but  they  chose  to  exclude  them  from 
the  position  always  assigned  to  such,  and  in  no 
respect  to  treat  them  like  men  taken  in  honorable 
warfare.  Their  commonest  soldier  was  never  com 
pelled,  by 'hunger,  to  eat  the  disgusting  rations  fur 
nished  at  the  Libby  to  United  States  officers.  Their 
most  exposed  encampment,  however  temporary,  never 
beheld  the  scenes  of  suffering  which  occurred  daily 
and  nightly  among  United  States  soldiers  in  the 
encampment  on  Belle  Isle. 

The  excuse  and  explanation  are  swept  away. 
There  is  nothing  now  between  the  Northern  people 
and  the  dreadful  reality. 


VI. 

The  treatment  of  Rebel  Prisoners  at  United  States  Stations — The 
humane  orders  of  the  Government — Scene  at  Lincoln  Hospital — 
Interior  of  the  Station  at  Fort  Delaware — The  Hospital  on  David's 
Island — Johnson's  Island — Point  Lookout — Tender  care  of  sick 
and  -wounded  Rebels  at  all  these  Stations — Kind  treatment  of  the 
wounded  prisoners— Abundant  shelter,  fuel,  clothing,  and  food  fur 
nished  them — Facilities  for  bathing  and  exercise — Small  mortality— No 
robbing — No  shooting — No  abuse — Christian  burial  of  the  dead — The 
contrast  of  the  Union  and  Rebel  prisoners  at  the  moment  of  exchange. 

THE  moment  has  now  come  for  the  reverse  to 
this  melancholy  picture,  and  it  will  be  as  grateful 
to  the  American  people  at  large,  as  it  was  to  the 
Commissioners. 

Early  in  the  progress  of  their  investigation,  while 
in  the  midst  of  the  sufferers  taking  their  testi 
mony,  and  occasionally  hearing  floating  and  irre 
sponsible  rumors  of  equal  neglect  and  cruelty  on 
our  part  toward  the  rebel  prisoners  in  our  hands, 
they  determined  to  make  a  full  inquiry  into  the 
conduct  and  management  of  United  States  Stations 
where  they  were  confined. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  testimony  will  be  found 
devoted  to  this  department.  The  variety  and  the 
widely  separate  sources  of  the  evidence,  will  only 
make  more  conspicuous  its  absolute  unity  and  truth. 

It   reveals  an  impressive   contrast,  point   for  point, 

(75) 


76          HUMANE  ORDEBS  OF  THE   U.  S.   GOVEENMENT. 

with  that  which  haa  just  been  narrated,  and  has 
turned  out  to  be  entirely  confirmatory  of  what 
Quartermaster-General  Meigs  declares  in  his  letter,* 
"  that  such  prisoners  are  treated  with  all  the  con 
sideration  and  kindness  that  might  be  expected  of 
a  humane  and  Christian  people." 

The  design  of  the  Government  is  fully  exhibited 
in  the  circular  orders  issued  by  Colonel  Hoffman, 
Commissary-General  of  Prisoners.f 

The  ration  was  to  be  generous  and  abundant;  its 
elements  of  the  fullest  variety.  The  amount  issued 
being  greater  than  a  man  could  consume,  the  excess 
over  that  which  was  given  was  to  go.  to  the  formation 
of  a  Prison  fund,  which  was  to  be  applied  in  various 
ways,  (not  expressly  provided  for  in  the  army  regula 
tions,)  that  would  promote  the  health  and  comfort  of 
the  prisoners. 

Army  clothing  was  to  be  furnished  by  requisition, 
whenever  needed,  the  only  difference  being  that  the 
buttons  and  trimmings  were  to  be  taken  from  the 
coats,  and  the  skirts  cut  so  short  that  the  captives 
should  not  be  mistaken  for  United  States  soldiers. 

Careful  accounts  were  to  be  kept  of  the  money 
and  valuables  taken  from  each  prisoner,  which  ac 
counts  were  to  accompany  him,  if  transferred  from 
one  post  to  another ;  and  when  paroled,  the  articles 

*  See  page  197. 

f  The  whole  document  will  be  found  on  page  203. 


THE  LINCOLN  HOSPITAL.  77 

were  to  be  returned.  They  were  to  be  permitted 
to  correspond  with  their  friends.  All  articles  that 
were  sent  to  them  were  to  be  delivered,  if  not  con 
traband. 

The  hospital  had  its  separate  provisions.  The 
keepers  in  charge  were  to  be  "  responsible  to  the  com 
manding  officer  for  its  good  order,  and  the  proper 
treatment  of  the  sick"  A  fund  for  each  hospital  was 
to  be  created,  as  in  other  United  States  hospitals,  and 
to  be  expended  for  the  comfort  of  the  sick,  and 
"  objects  indispensably  necessary  to  promote  the  sani 
tary  condition  of  the  hospital." 

The  minute  directions  of  the  entire  order  look 
equally  to  the  security  of  the  prisoners,  and  to  all  that 
is  necessary  for  them  in  health  or  sickness. 

The  commissioners  are  able  to  testify  that  the 
order  is  fully  carried  out.  They  took  pains  not  only 
to  procure  evidence  as  to  the  fact,  but  to  see  for  them 
selves. 

Two  members  of  the  Commission  came,  without 
previous  notice,  to  the  Lincoln  hospital  in  Washing 
ton,  where  they  had  heard  that  several  hundred  of  the 
rebels  lay,  having  been  wounded  in  the  recent  battles. 
The  chief  object  of  the  visitors  at  the  time  has  been 
already  mentioned.  But  they  were  able  also  to 
observe  how  well  the  hospital  was  conducted. 

Although  arriving  at  an  unseasonable  hour,  when 
the  surgeons  and  nurses  were  examining  and  dressing 
the  wounds,  they  were  instantly  admitted,  with  marked 


78  KINDNESS  TO  THE  PATIENTS. 

and  cordial  courtesy,  by  Chief  Surgeon  McKee,  upon 
his  learning  the  mission  upon  which  they  had  come. 

The  wards  were  airy  and  neat,  free  from  offensive 
odor,  the  beds  so  clean  that  the  visitors  sat  upon  them 
while  taking  testimony.  The  men  themselves  were 
cheerful  and  good-natured,  the  more  slightly  wounded 
crowding  up  curiously  to  know  what  was  going  on. 
until  requested  to  retire.  Some  were  sitting  by  their 
beds  reading  novels  or  odd  numbers  of  periodicals,  now 
and  then  a  bible.  They  were  always  ready  to  con 
verse,  and  answered  the  questions  that  were  put  to 
them  without  hesitation. 

The  visitors  could  see  no  difference  in  these  two 
wards  from  the  twenty  or  more  ethers  in  the  same 
hospital  that  were  appropriated  to  the  United  States 
soldiers.  The  patients  were  mostly  in  clean,  white 
underclothing,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  a  figure 
in  butternut-colored  uniform  here  and  there,  nothing 
would  have  suggested  the  presence  of  an  enemy. 

The  wounds  were  being  tenderly  unbandaged  and 
dressed  by  the  surgeons  and  their  assistants.  Kind 
ness  and  attention  were  visible  everywhere.  Female 
nurses  and  a  white-hooded  Sister  of  Charity  were 
constantly  moving  from  bed  to  bed.  One  of  them 
was  seen  carrying  a  waiter  of  iced  porter  to  the 
wounded,  and  holding  the  glass  to  the  lips  of  the  more 
helpless. 

The  spectacle  was  in  remarkable  contrast  with  that 
which  had  been  described  by  Dr.  Ferguson,  only  the 


UNITED  STATES  PEISON  AT  FORT  DELAWARE.  79 

evening  before,  as  witnessed  by  him  in  Hospital  No. 
21,  Richmond,  where  our  soldiers  lay  amid  the  secre 
tions  of  their  body,  and  the  purulent  discharges  of 
their  wounds,  dying  of  neglect,  and  for  want  of  the 
commonest  medical  attention. 

Some  time  after  this,  two  members  of  the  com 
mission  made  an  especial  visit  to  Fort  Delaware,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  examining  into  the  prison  and 
hospital  arrangements  there,  in  order  to  give,  in  this 
narrative,  their  own  direct  testimony  and  description,  as 
well  as  whatever  evidence  they  might  be  able  to  collect. 

They  fixed  upon  Fort  Delaware  because  it  was  one 
of  the  most  extensive  of  the  United  States  stations  for 
prisoners  of  war,  and  because  it  had  been  the  object 
of  various  rebel  reports.* 

The  following  description  is  from  notes  taken  on 
the  spot  by  one  of  the  party,  and  written  out  immedi 
ately  afterward : 

"  The  prisoners  numbering  between  eight  and  nine 
thousand  were  lodged  outside  the  walls  of  the  fort, 
(which  is  situated  on  an  island)  in  well  built  and  ven 
tilated  barracks,  and  have  free  access  at  all  hours  to 


*  A  recent  specimen  from  the  Rictimond  Dispatch,  July  14th.  Speak 
ing  of  some  returned  prisoners,  the  account  runs :  "  They  were  subse 
quently  imprisoned  at  Fort  Delaware,  where  those  who  had  money  fared 
pretty  well,  but  others,  less  fortunate,  suffered  many  privations.  They 
state  that  the  condition  of  the  Confederate  prisoners  at  that  point  is 
deplorable  in  the  extreme,  and  strongly  urge  the  adoption  of  some  meas 
ures  fcr  their  relief.  Sickness  is  very  prevalent  among  them,  while  the 
rations  are  meagre  and  of  poor  quality." 


80  SUPERIOR   QUALITY   OF  THE   FOOD. 

the  adjoining  enclosures  for  air  and  exercise.  They 
were  permitted,  and,  indeed,  urged  to  bathe  in  squads 
in  the  river  and  to  wash  in  sluices  to  which  the 
tide  had  access  twice  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  and 
the  facilities  for  these  purposes  were  so  great  that 
any  man  might,  if  he  chose,  wash  his  whole  person 
every  day,  and  swim  in  the  Delaware  twice  a  week. 

"  Every  man  is  furnished  with  a  commodious  bunk, 
with  the  head  raised  at  a  proper  inclination  above  the 
feet,  presenting  a  striking  contrast  to  a  Confederate 
prison,  where  prisoners  sleep  on  the  floor,  or  on  the 
earth,  and  have  not  even  a  bunch  of  straw  between 
them  and  the  ground. 

"  The  result  of  these  precautions,  and  of  the  superior 
ventilation  of  the  barracks  was  to  render  the  quarters 
of  the  prisoners  free  from  the  unpleasant  odor 
which  generally  exists  where  large  number  of  men 
are  brought  together,  and  compelled  to  live  in 
common.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  hospitals, 
which  are  spacious,  clean,  and  in  good  order. 

"  When  we  went  through  the  barracks,  shortly 
before  sunset,  the  men  were  generally  out  of  doors 
walking  about,  talking,  playing  cards,  washing,  or 
occupying  themselves  in  other  ways.  They  appeared  in 
general,  contented  and  cheerful.  Many  of  them  had 
improvised  sutler's  shops,  and  were  seated  on  the 
ground  or  boxes,  selling  coffee,  broiled  ham,  bread,  and 
other  articles  of  food  to  their  comrades,  who  were 
gathered  around  laughing  and  chatting. 


THEIR  HEALTH  AND  COMFORT  STUDIED.  81 

"  The  means  to  prosecute  this  traffic  came,  we  were 
told,  from  sympathizing  friends  in  different  parts  of 
the  Union,  and  from  small  sums  of  money  paid  as 
wages  to  such  of  the  men  as  were  willing  to  be  detailed 
to  perform  various  duties  outside  of  the  barracks  at 
different  points  on  the  island.  We  tasted  the  coffee, 
which  was  sold  for  five  cents  a  pint,  and  found  it  well 
made  and  palatable. 

"  Much  good  humor  seemed  to  prevail,  and  there 
was  not  a  little  good-natured  laughter  while  we  were 
making  the  purchase.  We  were  struck  by  the  assured 
yet  affable  air  with  which  General  Schopf  moved 
through  the  dense  throng  that  pressed  to  look  at  the 
visitors.  He  was  unattended  eve~n  by  an  orderly. 
His  manner  indicated  a  consciousness  that  he  had 
nothing  to  fear  from  individual  resentment. 

o 

"  In  addition  to  the  water  of  the  river  which,  as 
already  stated  is  accessible  at  all  times  for  the 
purposes  of  cleanliness,  thirty  thousand  gallons  of 
drinking  water  are  brought  every  day  from  the 
Brandywine,  and  distributed  among  the  prisoners  and 
the  soldiers  of  the  garrison,  by  means  of  large  hose 
and  a  forcing  pump  worked  by  a  steam  engine. 
Health  and  comfort  are  therefore  studied  in  this  as  in 
other  particulars,  but  it  was  at  first  found  difficult  to 
prevent  the  prisoners  from  drinking  from  shallow 
wells  dug  by  themselves,  the  water  of  which  is  brack 
ish,  and  has  a  tendency  to  produce  disease. 

"  The  rations  issued  to  the  prisoners  were  the  subject 

6 


82  CLOTHING-  FUENISHED. 

of  an  attentive  examination.  "We  tasted  the  bread, 
which  is  made  of  four  parts  of  flour  and  one  of  Indian 
meal,  and  found  it  of  superior  quality,  sweet  and 
palatable ;  better  indeed  than  is  met  with  at  hotels  or 
places  of  resort  in  the  country ;  quite  as  good  as  may 
be  found  in  any  well-ordered  family.  The  meat  was 
also  sweet  and  of  good  quality.  The  diet  is  judiciously 
varied,  potatoes  and  fresh  vegetables  being  furnished 
in  large  quantities,  wherever  the  health  of  the  men 
appears  to  require  it.  The  rations  actually  received 
by  the  prisoners  until  the  1st  of  June,  1864,  were 
nearly  three  pounds  of  solid  food  for  each  man  per  day, 
besides  coffee,  sugar,  molasses,  etc.  The  quantity  was 
then  reduced  to  about  thirty-four  and  a  half  ounces 
per  diem.* 

"The  health  of  the  prisoners  is  as  carefully  con 
sidered  in  the  matter  of  clothing,  as  in  other  respects ; 
those  who  require  blankets  or  additional  garments 
being  supplied  with  them  on  proper  application. 
Large  numbers  of  coats,  pantaloons,  etc.,  were  issued 
in  this  way  during  the  past  and  previous  winters. 
When  a  prisoner  is  placed  on  the  sick  list,  and  taken 
to  the  hospital,  he  is  put  in  a  warm  bath,  supplied 
with  clean  under-clothing,  and  then  laid  on  a  bed 
with  clean  sheets,  in  an  airy  apartment,  where  his 


*  "The  reduction  recently  made  in  the  prisoner's  ration,"  writes 
Quartermaster-General  Meigs,  June  6th,  "was  for  the  purpose  of  bring 
ing  it  nearer  to  what  the  rebel  authorities  profess  to  allow  their  soldiers, 
and  no  complaint  has  been  heard  of  its  insufficiency." 


NO  SHOOTING  OF  PEISONEES.  83 

condition  is,  so  far  as  his  disease  will  permit,  one  not 
only  of  comparative  but  absolute  comfort. 

"  The  percentage  of  deaths  at  Fort  Delaware,  was 
during  some  months  of  last  autumn  and  winter,  large. 
This  result  arose  from  a  variety  of  causes  originating 
before  the  prisoners  were  captured  and  brought  to  the 
island,  and  which  the  officers  there  could  not  at  first 
remove  or  control.  Among  these  may  be  enumerated 
the  want  of  vaccination,  which  seems  to  be  as  rare 
among  the  poorer  classes  of  the  South  as  it  is  general 
at  the  North ;  the  attempts  made  by  the  prisoners  to 
vaccinate  each  other,  which  often  caused  disease  of  a 
dangerous  type  from  the  character  of  the  virus  em 
ployed  ;  and  the  bad  state  of  the  body  of  many  of  the 
men  taken  at  and  near  Vicksburg,  who  were  broken 
down  by  hardships  and  fatigues  sustained  before  their 
capture,  as  well  as  by  the  influence  of  the  terrible 
malaria  of  the  South. 

"But  while  the  ratio  of  mortality  among  the  Ameri 
can  soldiers  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels  has  continued 
to  augment  with  time,  the  health  of  the  Confederate 
prisoners  at  Fort  Delaware  has,  on  the  contrary,  im 
proved  under  the  influence  of  good  food  or  kind  treat 
ment,  until  in  May,  1864,  but  sixty-two  died  out  of 
eight  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  confined 
at  the  island. 

"  The  cruel  and  unusual  rule  by  which  an  approach 
to  the  windows  from  inadvertence,  or  for  the  most 
inEocent  purpose,  is  made  an  offence  punishable  with 


84  INSTRUCTIONS  TO   THE   GUARD. 

death  in  the  Confederate  prisons,  is,  it  need  hardly 
be  said,  unknown  in  Fort  Delaware.  Few  restraints 
are  imposed,  and  those  only  snch  as  are  imperatively 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  cleanliness 
among  a  numerous  and  motley  crowd,  which  necessa 
rily  contains  some  men  of  gross  and  filthy  habits."  * 

Shooting  was  never  resorted  to  unless  a  rule  was 
grossly  and  persistently  violated.  Even  then  the  di 
rection  was  to  order  the  prisoner  "  three  distinct  times 
to  halt;"  and  if  he  "  failed  to  halt,  when  so  ordered,  the 
sentinel  must  enforce  his  order  by  bayonet  or  ball.'' 
There  were  but  five  instances  of  shooting,  under  these 
instructions,  and  they  were  in  every  case  in  obedience 
to  them. 

It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  notice  the  question 
whether  any  were  shot  for  looking  out  of  the  windows. 
No  such  order  was  ever  given  in  this,  or  any  other 
United  States  Station.  Here  the  windows  were  seen 
filled  with  the  prisoners. 

The  Commissioners  are  under  great  obligations  to 
General  Schopf,  Commander  of  the  Post,  for  the 
courtesy  shown  them,  in  personally  conducting  them 
over  the  station,  and  to  the  surgeons  and  officers  in 
attendance,  who  readily  furnished  all  the  evidence 
that  was  asked  for.  It  was  here  that  the  documents, 
the  general  circular,  the  orders,  and  the  schedules  of 
rations  and  clothing  were  obtained. 

The  testimony  is  exceedingly  full  and  satisfactory 

*  From  notes  by  Judge  Hare. 


IMMENSE   QUANTITY  OF  CLOTHING  DISTRIBUTED.       85 

on  all  points.  It  will  be  noticed  that  a  prison  fund 
was  formed,  in  accordance  with  the  regulations,  from 
the  excess  of  the  ration  issued  over  the  ration  given, 
and  that  the  amount  was  spent  for  vegetables  and 
articles  of  convenience.  But  even  with  this  withhold 
ing  of  part,  so  great  was  the  abundance  of  food,  that 
the  prisoners  hid  loaves  of  bread,  crackers  and  meat 
under  the  bunks.  These  were  repeatedly  found  there 
in  large  quantities  during  an  examination  of  the 
barracks. 

Captain  Clark  was  able  to  save  sometimes  between 
two  and  three  thousand  dollars  a  month  out  of  surplus 
rations,  and  yet  every  care  was  taken  that  too  much 
was  not  withheld.  The  overseers  were  frequently 
Jisked  if  the  prisoners  complained  of  not  having 
enough,  and  were  ordered  "to  give  them  more,  and  let 
no  man  want."  A  complaint  was  scarcely  ever  heard. 

It  will  be  noticed  what  enormous  quantities  of  cloth 
ing  were  issued,  at  this  post  alone,  to  the  prisoners. 
En  eight  months  over  thirty-five  thousand  articles 
»vere  distributed,  comprising  every  species  of  clothing 
from  shoes  and  stockings,  shirts  and  drawers,  to 
woolen  blankets  and  great  coats.  Most  of  these  were 
given  on  the  approach  of  cold  weather. 

Every  one  without  a  blanket  or  overcoat  of  his  own 
was  provided  with  one.  All  had  at  least  two  blank 
ets,  and  those  who  were  delicate  had  more. 

The  barracks  were  made  comfortable  by  stoves. 
Fuel  was  never  wanting,  and  the  fires  were  kept  up 


86  DAVID'S  ISLAND  HOSPITAL. 

by  attendants.  No  less  than  thirteen  hundred  tons  of 
coal  were  consumed  last  winter  and  spring  by  the 
prisoners. 

In  hot  weather  equal  provision  was  made  for  their 
comfort,  especially  in  the  hospitals.  The  visitors  no 
ticed  in  the  latter,  even  green  shades  covering  the 
windows,  and  a  water-cooler  in  every  ward,  filled  with 
ice,  for  the  free  use  of  the  patients. 

Gen.  Schopf  informed  the  visitors  that  in  every 
case  of  death,  the  body  was  removed  to  a  neat  grave 
yard  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  the  burial  service  of 
the  Episcopal  church  was  read  over  the  grave. 

It  was  found,  by  further  investigation,  that  the 
arrangements  of  every  other  United  States  Prison 
Station  and  Hospital  were  the  same  as  those  of  Fort 
Delaware.  The  same  regulations  were  observed  in  all. 
The  identical  diet-table,  containing  the  minute  direc 
tions  of  the  Surgeon-General  at  Washington,  was 
hung  up  as  conspicuously  in  the  hospital  for  rebels 
as  that  for  the  United  States  soldier. 

The  De  Camp  General  Hospital,  on  David's  Island, 
New  York,  was  a  counterpart  of  that  just  described. 
The  testimony  taken  by  one  of  the  commissioners,  is 
almost  a  repetition  of  that  taken  at  Fort  Delaware. 
The  only  variations  which  occur  are  additions  to  the 
facts  already  recited. 

None  of  the  prisoners  were  ever  deprived  of  money 
or  valuables.  Some  of  them  had  arrived  in  a  lilthy, 
horrible  condition,  ragged,  barefooted  and  bareheaded, 


CAEE   OF  THE   SICK   AXD  WOUNDED.  87 

covered  with  vermin,  (a  condition  easily  accounted  for 
by  the  peculiar  and  desperate  style  of  Southern  cam 
paigning,  where  no  tents  or  baggage  were  allowed  to 
encumber,  and  the  soldier  had  to  wear  the  same  un 
changed  suit  through  many  days  of  forced  marching 
and  violent  fighting.)  Within  a  few  hours  the  men, 
having  been  stripped  of  all  their  clothing,  which  was 
removed  and  burned,  were  washed,  furnished  with  clean 
linen,  and  placed  on  clean,  well-aired  beds.  Full  suits 
of  clothing  were  issued  to  them.  When  the  weather 
became  cold  they  were  removed  from  tents  to  spacious 
pavilions,  furnished  with  abundant  fuel.  No  one  was 
ever  frostbitten.  None  were  ever  shot  at.  They  were 
given  the  whole  island  inside  the  line  of  sentries  for 
exercise.  Formerly  they  had  been  allowed  to  go  fish 
ing  and  clamming,  till  several  escaped,  when  the  line 
of  sentries  was  placed  on  the  beach. 

They  had  precisely  the  same  rations  as  the  Federal 
sick  and  wounded.  Drinking  water,  cooled  with  ice. 
was  furnished  in  profusion.  Soap,  towels,  and  combs 
were  distributed  for  their  private  use.  There  was  a 
nurse  to  every  ten  of  them.* 

It  will  not  surprise  the  reader  to  hear  of  the  small 
mortality,  although  nine-tenths  were  suffering  from 
wounds. 

One  most  pleasing  feature  of  this  hospital  is  devel 
oped  in  the  testimony  of  Rev.  Mr.  Lowry,  its  chaplain. 

*  Each  pavilion  had  from  two  to  four  water  closets.  Chairs  and  bed 
pans  were  provided  for  those  unable  to  reach  them.  Ample  structures 
were  also  erected  on  the  beach. 


88  JOHNSON'S  ISLAND. 

A  library  of  two  thousand  volumns,  formerly  used  by 
United  States  soldiers,  was  even  more  used  by  the 
Confederates.  They  were  furnished  with  Bibles, 
Prayer  Books,  and  other  religious  publications.  Re 
ligious  services  were  held  twice  on  Sunday,  and  two 
or  three  times  during  the  week.  The  chapel,  which 
would  accommodate  three  hundred,  was  often  crowded. 
Whenever  a  death  occurred,  the  funeral  was  conducted 
according  to  the  form  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

Johnson's  Island,  in  Ohio,  has  been  an  especial 
subject  of  rebel  mis-statements.  It  is  a  pleasant, 
healthy  spot,  three  hundred  acres  in  extent,  in  San- 
dusky  Bay,  close  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kelley?s 
Island,  which  is  a  favorite  place  of  summer  resort. 
The  two  Islands  are  much  alike. 

The  climate  is  testified  to  be  as  favorable  to  health 
as  that  of  Newport  or  Saratoga  in  summer,  or  Cin- 
cinnafi  and  Dayton  in  winter.  Like  Fort  Delaware 
it  is  a  military  prison  and  hospital.  The  buildings 
are  spacious,  new,  and  in  good  order.  The  sanitary 
and  other  regulations  of  similar  stations  are  observed 
here  in  all  particulars. 

Although  in  winter  the  weather  was  so  cold  that 
the  lake  was  frozen  to  the  main  land,  three  miles 
distant,  and  the  government  teams,  conveying  sup 
plies,  were  able  to  cross  upon  the  ice,  yet  so  well 
warmed  were  the  barracks,  that  not  a  single  instance 
of  treatment  for  exposure  to  cold  was  known,  except, 
in  the  case  of  some  who  attempted  to  escape. 

A    spacious    square,    enclosed    by   the    buildings 


POINT  LOOKOUT.  89 

was  given  up  to  the  prisoners  for  exercise,  and  they 
were  allowed  to  be  in  the  open  air  all  day. 

The  statistics  of  mortality  will  be  astonishing  to 
read,  after  hearing  the  rebel  stories.  In  twenty-one 
months,  out  of  an  aggregate  of  six  thousand  four 
hundred  and  ten  prisoners,  there  were  only  one 
hundred  and  thirty-four  deaths.  The  number  in  prison 
at  one  time  never  exceeded  two  thousand  seven  hun 
dred.  In  the  months  of  May  and  June,  last,  there 
were  about  two  thousand  three  hundred  prisoners. 
In  May  five  died ;  in  June  only  one ! 

Point  Lookout  was  still  another  post  which  had  been 
subjected  to  the  rebel  statement  that  the  prisoners 
there  suffered  from  cruelty  and  neglect.  Miss  Dix,  who 
visited  those  very  prisoners,  sufficiently  disposes  of  the 
slander.  She  says :  "  They  were  supplied  with  vege 
tables,  with  the  best  wheat  bread,  and  fresh  and  salt 
meat  three  times  daily  in  abundant  measure — the  full 
government  ration. 

"  In  the  camp  of  about  nine  thousand  rebel 
prisoners,  there  were  but  four  hundred  reported  to 
the  surgeon.  Of  these  one  hundred  were  confined 
to  their  beds,  thirty  were  very  sick,  and  perhaps 
fifteen  or  twenty  would  never  recover. 

"  The  hospital  food  consisted  of  beef-tea,  beef-soup, 
rice,  milk-punch,  milk,  gruel,  lemonade,  stewed  fruits, 
beefsteak,  vegetables,  and  mutton.  White  sugar  was 
employed  in  cooking.  The  supplies  were,  in  fact, 
more  ample  and  abundant  than  in  hospitals  where 
our  own  men  were  under  treatment." 


90  CONTRAST  AT  THE   MOMENT   OF   EXCHANGE. 

The  surgeons  of  the  various  hospitals,  in  several 
instances,  allude  to  the  excellent  condition  of  the 
prisoners  when  discharged  and  exchanged,  and  in  the 
statement  of  Miss  Dix  will  be  found  a  brief  descrip 
tion  of  their  appearance  when  leaving  the  flag-of- 
truce  boat  for  their  own  lines :  "  All  were  in  vigorous 
health,  equipped  in  clothes  furnished  by  the  United 
States  Government,  many  of  them  with  blankets  and 
haversacks." 
.* 

And  here  terminates  the  contrast,  which  the  reader 
has  probably  been  drawing  throughout,  between  the 
military  stations  for  prisoners,  North  and  South,  Union 
and  rebel. 

But  the  contrast  must  have  been  overwhelming  at 
the  point  to  which  this  narrative  has  now  come.  When 
the  flag-of-truce  boat  landed  within  the  rebel  lines,  the 
two  systems  confronted  each  other.  On  one  side, 
hundreds  of  feeble,  emaciated  men,  ragged,  filthy, 
hungry,  diseased,  and  dying ;  on  the  other  an  equal 
number  of  strong  and  hearty  men,  clad  in  the  army 
clothing  of  the  Government  against  which  they  had 
fought,  having  been  humanely  sheltered,  fed,  cleansed 
of  dirt,  cured  of  wounds  and  disease,  and  now  hon 
orably  returned  in  a  condition  to  fight  that  Government 
again. 

The  public  sentiment  of  the  North,  outraged  as  it 
may  have  been,  would  never  have  permitted  any  other 
than  this  Christian  and  magnanimous  course. 


VII. 

The  three  points  now  investigated — The  conclusion  of  the  Commission 
ers — These  privations  and  sufferings  were  designedly  inflicted — The 
late  appeal  to  Divine  and  human  judgment  upon  their  cause  by  the 
rebel  government — The  spirit  of  tbat  cause  identical  with  the  spirit 
which  originated  and  defends  it. 

Such  are  the  facts  which  have  been  brought  to 
light  by  the  inquiry  of  the  Commissioners. 

There  were  three  points  before  them  to  be  inves 
tigated.  They  were  requested  to  ascertain  "  the  true 
physical  condition  of  the  prisoners  recently  discharged 
by  exchange  from  confinement  at  Eichmond  and  else 
where."  They  were  also  requested  to  ascertain 
whether  these  prisoners  "did  in  fact,  during  such 
confinement,  suffer  materially  for  want  of  food,  or 
from  its  defective  quality,  or  from  other  privations 
and  sources  of  disease." 

This  duty  has  been  performed,  and  the  result  is 
now  before  the  public. 

There  was  one  other  point  which  the  Commis 
sioners  were  requested  to  make  clear :  "  Whether 
the  privations  and  sufferings  of  the  prisoners  were 

designedly   inflicted   on   them   by  military   or   other 

(91) 


92  WERE  THESE  CRUELTIES  INTENTIONAL? 

authority  of  the  rebel  government,  or  were  due  to 
causes  which  such  authorities  could  not  control." 

This  question  has  already  been  alluded  to  digres- 
sively,  but  its  full  answer  properly  belongs  to  this 
stage  of  the  narrative,  when  the  whole  field  of  the 
investigation  is  before  the  reader. 

The  feeling  lingered  in  the  minds  of  the  Commis 
sioners  as  the  investigation  went  on,  that  this  dreadful 
condition  of  things   might   be   attributable   to  even 
other   causes   than   the    possible    destitution   of  the 
rebel  government.     This  latter  consideration,  it  will 
be    remembered,  was   at  an  early  moment,  entirely 
disposed  of.     Any  unconscious  or  unintentional  form 
of  crime  is  less   reprehensible   than   that  which   is 
knowingly  or  deliberately  committed.     The  question 
therefore  suggested  itself  whether  all  this  might  not 
have  been  owing  to  the  negligence  and  incompetence 
incident   to   an  immature  social  system,  or   to   the 
thoughtlessness  of  a  reckless  people,  or  to  the  misman 
agement  of  an  improvident  government.  This  was  the 
only  alternative,  and  was  sufficiently  discreditable.    But 
it  was  altogether  more  probable  that  a  whole  people 
and  government  could  unite  in  being  thoughtlessly  and 
inconsiderately  cruel,  than  consciously  and  purposely 
so.     The   latter  was   something  too   revolting  to  be 
entertained    or    believed.      The    whole    current    of 
public   feeling    and    public   principle   generated    by 
the   spread    of    Christianity,   and    the    progress    of 
civilization,   is  so   averse   to   anything   of  the   land 


THE   EEBEL   PKISOX  AT  TYLE3  IX  TEXAS.  93 

that  the  majority  of  people  are  made  almost  incapable 
of  comprehending,  or  even  imagining  such  a  state  of 
mind  in  any  community. 

And  yet  it  is  to  this  very  conclusion  that  every 
one  must  come  who  carefully  weighs  the  testimony. 
Every  doubt  and  misgiving  successively  disappears. 
No  other  theory  will  cover  the  immensity  and 
variety  of  that  system  of  abuse  to  which  our  soldiers 
are  subjected.  That  abuse  is,  in  all  its  forms,  too 
general,  too  uniform,  and  too  simultaneous  to  be 
otherwise  than  the  result  of  a  great  arrangement. 
One  prison-station  is  like  another — one  hospital  re 
sembles  another  hospital.  This  has  been  made 
especially  apparent  by  intelligence  that  has  reached 
the  public  just  as  this  investigation  is  closing,  and 
this  report  is  being  written.  The  remote  prison  at 
Tyler,  in  Texas,  sends  out  a  tale  of  suffering  identical 
with  that  described  in  these  pages.  It  was  only  a  few 
weeks  ago,  that  the  streets  of  New  Orleans  beheld 
a  regiment  of  half-starved  and  half-naked  men,  who 
had  just  been  released  from  that  station.  Still  more 
heart-rending  is  the  later  account,  given  in  a  memor 
ial  to  the  President,  from  Andersonville,  Georgia, 
and  in  the  full  description,  verified  on  oath,  of  what 
is  now  being  suffered  there  by  the  imprisoned  sol 
diers  of  our  army.  It  would  appear  to  be  Belle-Isle 
five  times  enlarged,  and  ten-fold  intensified.  An 
enormous  multitude  of  thirty-five  thousand  men  are 
crowded  together  in  a  square  enclosure  or  stockade 


94       THE   SAME   SUFFERING  IN  EVERY  REBEL   PRISON. 

of  about  twenty-five  acres,  with  a  noxious  swamp  at 
the  centre,  occupying  one-fourth  of  the  whole  space. 
Here  the  prisoners  suffer  not  only  the  privations 
already  mentioned,  but  others  peculiar  to  circum 
stances  of  a  worse  description.*  In  this  pestilential 
prison  they  are  dying  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  a  day,  on  an  average!  The  Commissioners 
allude  to  this  station  not  as  part  of  the  evidence 
taken  by  themselves,  but  as  an  interesting,  authentic, 
and  corroborative  illustration  of  the  point  now  under 
consideration. 

It  is  the  same  story  everywhere: — prisoners  of  war 
treated  worse  than  convicts,  shut  up  either  in  suffo 
cating  buildings,  or  in  outdoor  enclosures,  without 
even  the  shelter  that  is  provided  for  the  beasts  of 
the  field ;  unsupplied  with  sufficient  food ;  supplied 
with  food  and  water  injurious  and  even  poisonous; 
compelled  to  live  in  such  personal  uncleanliness  as  to 
generate  vermin ;  compelled  to  sleep  on  floors  often 
covered  with  human  filth,  or  on  ground  saturated  with 
it ;  compelled  to  breathe  an  air  oppressed  with  an  in 
tolerable  stench  ;  hemmed  in  by  a  fatal  dead-line,  and 
in  hourly  danger  of  being  shot  by  unrestrained  and 
brutal  guards ;  despondent  even  to  madness,  idiocy 
and  suicide ;  sick  of  diseases,  (so  congruous  in  char 
acter  as  to  appear  and  spread  like  the  plague,)  caused 
by  the  torrid  sun,  by  decaying  food,  by  filth,  by  vermin, 

*  For  the  full  account  see  Supplement,  page  259. 


PRIVATIONS  AND  SUFFERINGS  DESIGNEDLY  INFLICTED.  95 

by  malaria,  and  by  cold ;  removed  at  the  last  moment, 
and  by  hundreds  at  a  time,  to  hospitals  corrupt  as  a 
sepulchre,  there,  with  few  remedies,  little  care  and  no 
sympathy,  to  die  in  wretchedness  and  despair,  not 
only  among  strangers,  but  among  enemies  too  resent 
ful  to  have  pity  or  to  show  mercy. 

These  are  positive  facts.  Tens  of  thousands  of 
helpless  men  have  been  and  are  now  being  disabled 
and  destroyed  by  a  process  as  certain  as  poison,  and 
as  cruel  as  the  torture  or  burning  at  the  stake, 
because  nearly  as  agonizing  and  more  prolonged. 
This  spectacle  is  daily  beheld  and  allowed  by  the 
rebel  government. 

No  supposition  of  negligence,  or  thoughtlessness, 
or  indifference,  or  accident,  or  inefficiency,  or  destitu 
tion,  or  necessity,  can  account  for  all  this.  So  many 
and  such  positive  forms  of  abuse  and  wrong  cannot 
come  from  negative  causes. 

The  conclusion  is  unavoidable,  therefore,  that "  these 
privations  and  sufferings"  have  been  "designedly  in 
flicted  by  the  military  and  other  authority  of  the 
rebel  government,"  and  cannot  have  been  "  due  to 
causes  which  such  authorities  could  not  control." 

Further  than  this,  the  Commissioners  are  not  re 
quired  to  express  an  opinion.  Whether  or  not  they 
are  the  result  of  an  infuriated  and  vindictive  ani 
mosity  against  the  Federal  government  and  people, 
or  the  result  of  a  pre-determined  policy,  deliberately 
formed,  to  discourage  and  affright  our  soldiers,  to 


96  NO    A.BUSES  SANCTIONED  BY  FEDERAL   GOVERNMENT. 

destroy  them,  or  to  disable  them  for  further  military 
service,  or  to  compel  our  Government  to  an  exchange 
on  other  than  the  terms  to  which  it  is  in  honor  and 
by  necessity  committed,  the  public  are  in  a  position 
to  decide. 

The  Commissioners  have  now  performed  their  pain 
ful  task.  It  has  not  been  a  grateful  duty  to  narrate 
facts  so  unworthy  of  any  people,  especially  of  one 
heretofore  so  highly  respected,  so  much  admired, 
and  in  so  many  respects  a  credit  to  the  American 
name.  That  name  is  shamed  and  dishonored  by  their 
exposure. 

But  there  is  one  source  of  pride  and  congratulation: — 
that,  whatever  abuses  may  have  been  developed  on  the 
Northern  side  of  this  war,  none  of  them  were  origi 
nated  or  sanctioned  by  the  government.  In  every 
case  they  have  been  the  impulsive  acts  of  subordi 
nates  here  and  there — and  such  are  incident  to  any 
conflict.  The  noble  and  magnanimous  manner  in  which 
the  government  treats  the  enemies  to  its  peace  and 
prosperity,  when  they  have  become  helpless  prisoners 
in  its  hands,  is,  alone,  a  sufficient  manifestation  of  the 
spirit  which  animates  it  in  waging  this  war.  No 
sentiment  of  anger  or  resentment  has  actuated  it  from 
the  beginning.  The  condition  of  its  prison  stations 
and  hospitals  is  the  best  and  proudest  exponent  of  the 
cause  of  humanity  which  it  seeks  to  maintain.  This 
praise  will  be  awarded  it  by  the  historian  and  by 


THE   SOCIAL   CAUSE   OF   SOUTHERN  INHUMANITY.        97 

posterity,  when  the  story  of  this  stupendous  struggle 
shall  be  written. 

Can  as  much  be  said  of  the  cause  which  stands 
i  a  opposition  to  it  ?  The  facts  of  this  narrative,  and  of 
others  that  will  be  yet  more  complete,  will  also  enter 
into  the  future  history  of  this  conflict,  but  will  form 
its  most  tragical  chapter.  It  will  in  that  day  be 
known  whether  the  spirit  which  animates  the  South 
is  not  also  the  spirit  which  has  generated  the  cause 
of  the  South.  The  spirit  which  animates  a  cause, 
gives  the  character  to  that  cause.  A  people,  like  an 
individual,  is  estimated  by  its  actions  and  by  'its 
motives.  Perhaps  the  world  will  yet  discover  a 
strange  and  reciprocal  working  of  influences  in  the 
production  of  that  which  now  opposes  the  republican 
progress  of  this  government.  Perhaps  the  social 
theory,  already  so  widely  accepted,  may  yet  be  fully 

established,  which   attributes   the   alienation   of  the 

f 

Southern  people  to  a  simple  difference  of  feeling 
on  a  question  of  humanity.  A  too  positive  denial  of 
humanity  to  another  race,  and  a  too  positive  con 
tempt  for  a  poorer  class  of  their  own  race,  have 
fostered  those  perverted  principles,  which  would 
undermine  a  government  filled  with  a  more  generous 
idea,  and  excite  a  hatred  toward  the  people  who  would 
uphold  it.  As  an  exponent  of  the  inhumanity  of 
the  Southern  cause,  it  is  not  unjust,  therefore,  to 
point  to  its  prisons  and  hospitals,  where  disregard 


7 


98   EEBEL  APPEAL  TO  DIVINE   AND  HUMAN  JUDGMENT. 

of  the  sacredness  of  human  life,  and  the  cry  of 
human  suffering,  has  such  an  extraordinary  mani 
festation. 

And  in  the  face  of  all  this,  the  confederate  con 
gress,  with  the  approval  of  the  confederate  president, 
issued,  on  the  14th  of  June  last,  a  manifesto,  of  which 
the  following  is  the  concluding  declaration : 

"  We  commit  our  cause  to  the  enlightened  judgment 
of  the  world,  to  the  sober  reflections  of  our  adversaries 
themselves,  and  to  the  solemn  and  righteous  arbitra 
ment  of  heaven." 

Can  this  appeal,  to  both  Divine  and  human  judg 
ment,  be  really  sincere,  or  is  it  only  a  rounded  and 
rhetorical  termination  of  a  state  paper]  Is  the  rebel 
government  really  so  unconscious  of  this  barbarous 
warfare,  that  it  confidently  expects -the  respect  and 
sympathy  of  the  civilized  world  1  Is  it  really  so  uncon 
scious  of  vindictive  cruelty,  that  it  as  confidently  ex 
pects  a  revulsion  in  its  favor  from  a  community  whose 
fathers  and  brothers  and  sons  lie  piled  by  thousands  ifn 
pits  and  trenches,  not  on  the  battle-field,  but  in  the 
neighborhood  of  prisons  and  hospitals  ]  Is  it  really  so 
unconscious  of  crime  that  it  claims  even  the  favora 
ble  judgment  of  Him,  unto  whom  all  hearts  are 
open,  from  whom  no  secrets  are  hid,  and  who  re 
quires  of  man  to  deal  justly  and  to  love  mercy]  Is 
it  really  anxious  to  stand  before  that  bar,  whose 


SOUTHED    INCONSISTENCY.  99 

final  discrimination  between  good  and  evil,  it  has 
been  revealed,  shall  rest  upon  the  single  fact  of 
humanity  or  inhumanity:  whether  the  passions  of 
anger  and  hate  have  been  controlled,  whether  enemies 
have  been  forgiven,  whether  privation  and  suffering- 
have  been  relieved]  In  view  of  the  powerless  captive, 
hungry,  naked,  sick  and  wounded,  does  it  really 
await  "the  solemn  and  righteous  arbitrament"  of 
Him,  to-day,  who  will  hereafter  say  to  the  cruel  and 
the  unmerciful : 

"  I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  gave  Me  no  meat :  I 
was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  Me  no  drink:  I  was  a  stranger, 
and  ye  took  Me  not  in:  naked  and  ye  clothed  Me  not: 
sick  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  Me  not?' 

Let  the  Southern  conscience  listen !  Let  it  re 
member  that  the  judgment  of  Heaven  is  on  the  side 
of  humanity,  and  against  cruelty  and  oppression,  that 
a  wrong  done  to  man  is  a  wrong  done  to  God,  who 
will  make  the  cause  of  the  suffering  His  own,  and 
will  avenge  Himself  on  His  enemies : 

"  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not 
to  one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  did  it  not  to  Me !" 

And  here  the  Commissioners  leave  the  subject. 
Their  inquiry  was  originated,  and  has  been  pursued, 
in  the  hope  that  it  might,  by  awakening  further  atten 
tion,  be  one  of  the  means  which  would  bring  about  an 
abandonment  by  the  rebel  government  of  its  prison 


100  THE   BEST  RESULT  OF   THIS  INQUIRY. 

and  hospital  system.  The  many  and  simultaneous 
exposures  which  have  been  made,  may  possibly 
induce,  at  least,  a  prudence  which  may  work  the 
same  result  as  a  better  motive.  Already  there  are 
symptoms  of  some  such  movement,  and  of  an  admis 
sion,  even  at  this  late  moment,  of  the  misery  that  has 
been  produced,  a  movement  and  admission  whether 
made  from  necessity  or  self-interest  does  not  yet 
appear.* 

But  whatever  the  event  may  be,  this  inquiry 
will  have  worked  its  best  purpose,  if  its  facts  should 
ever  reach  that  nobler  portion  of  the  Southern 
people,  who  are  really  chivalrous  and  really  religious, 
who  have  not  been  committed  to  these  abuses,  who 
have  been  kept  in  ignorance  of  them,  and  lead  to  a 
protest  and  a  revulsion  that  will  compel  their  govern 
ment  to  a  repudiation  of  the  iniquity,  and  to  a  course 
more  worthy  of  a  civilized  and  Christian  people. 


*  It  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  allude  to  the  subject  of  the  sus 
pension  of  the  cartel  of  exchange,  as  it  had  but  little  bearing  on  the 
points  to  be  investigated.  But  the  lately  published  letter  from  Major- 
General  Butler,  Commissioner  of  Exchange,  to  the  Confederate  Com- 
mmissioner,  Ould,  is  of  interest  and  importance  at  the  present  juncture. 
It  will  be  found  printed  entire  in  the  supplement. 

The  following  extract  from  General  Butler's  letter  has  a  connection 
with  the  above  remark  in  the  report : 

"I  unite  with  you  cordiaPy,  Sir,  in  desiring  a  speedy  settlement  of 
all  these  questions,  in  view  of  the  great  suffering  endured  by  our  pris 
oners  in  the  hands  of  your  authorities,  of  which  you  so  feelingly  speak. 
Let  me  ask,  in  view  of  that  suffering,  why  you  have  delayed  eight 
months  to  answer  a  proposition,  which  by  now  accepting,  you  admit  to 
be  right,  just,  and  humane,  allowing  that  suffering  to  continue  so  long? 


SYMPTOMS   OF   AX   EXCHANGE.  101 

One  cannot  help  thinking,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  deemed  unchari 
table,  that  the  benevolent  sympathies  of  the  Confederate  authorities 
have  been  lately  stirred  by  the  depleted  condition  of  their  armies,  and 
a  desire  to  get  into  the  field,  to  effect  the  present  campaign,  the  hale, 
hearty,  and  well-fed  prisoners  held  by  the  United  States,  in  exchange 
forjhe  half-starved,  sick,  emaciated,  and  unserviceable  soldiers  of  the 
United  States  now  languishing  in  your  prisons. " 


The  following  paper  having  been  read  before  the 
Commission,  by  DR.  WALLACE,  it  was,  on  motion 
of  DR.  DELAFIELD,  adopted  by  the  Commission, 
and  ordered  to  be  appended  to  their  Report. 


(103) 


MEDICAL    REPORT. 


To   DR.   VALENTINE   MOTT, 

Chairman,  etc. 

MB.  CHAIRMAN: — 

According  to  the  direction  of  the  Commission,  I  lay 
before  you  certain  considerations  relating  to  the  treatment 
adopted  by  the  authorities  of  the  States  in  rebellion  to 
wards  United  States  soldiers  held  by  them  as  prisoners  of 
war,  with  the  view  of  determining  the  influence  of  this 
treatment  upon  the  hygiene  and  mortality  of  its  subjects. 
I  shall  ground  my  remarks  upon  the  evidence  appended — 
upon  the  opinions  of  reliable  scientific  authorities — and  to 
some,  though  slight  degree,  upon  our  own  personal  observa 
tion. 

In  investigating  the  subject  before  us,  the  ques 
tion  of  food,  takes  rank  as  of  first  importance  ;  and,  Food, 
in  considering  this  point,  there  are  certain  well  es 
tablished   facts  relating  to  the  subject  of  alimentation,  to 

which  we  must  refer. 

(105) 


106  MEDICAL  REPORT. 

Ill  deciding  upon  the  quantity  of  food  requisite 
S  fo"»  man.  for  the  due  support  of  a  man,  Professor  Dalton* 
says  that  "  any  estimate  of  the  total  quantity  should 
state  also  the  kind  of  food  used,"  as  "the  total  quantity  will 
necessarily  vary  with  the  quality,  since  some  articles  con 
tain  much  more  alimentary  material  than  others:"  And 

Surgeon-General  Hammondf  says,  "  it  is  necessary 
tbodracterof  that  the  food  of  man  should  consist  of  a  variety  of 

substances,  in  order  that  the  several  functions  of 
the  organism  may  be  properly  carried  on;  no  fact  in 
dietetics  is  better  established  than  this:"  And  Professor 
DunglisonJ  speaks  to  the  same  end  thus:  "man  is  so 
organized  as  to  be  adapted  for  living  on  both  animal  and 
vegetable  substances,  and  if  we  lay  aside  our  mixed  nutri 
ment,  and  restrict  ourselves  wholly  to  the  products  of  the 
one  or  the  other  kingdom,  scurvy  supervenes-! 

Dalton  states  that  the  amount  of  solid  food  required 
during  twenty-four  hours  by  a  man  in  full  health  and 
taking  free  exercise  in  the  open  air,  is,  of  bread,  nineteen 
ounces;  meat,  sixteen  ounces;  and  butter,  three  and  a  half 
ounces;  in  all,  thirty-eight  and  a  half  ounces."  Hammond 
places  the  amount  of  solid  food  "  required  to  maintain  the 
organism  of  a  healthy  adult  American,  up  to  the  full  mea 
sure  of  physical  and  mental  capability,  at  about  forty 
ounces,  of  which  two- thirds  should  be  vegetable,  and  one- 
third  animal." 

*  Human  Physiology. 
t  Treatise  on  Hygiene. 
\  Human  Health. 

§  Professor  "Wood  in  his  Treatise  on  Practice  of  Medicine,  defines 
Scurvy  to  be  a  disease  in  which  "the  blood  is  depraved,  and  the  system 
debilitated,  with  a  tendency  to  hemorrhage  and  to  local  cong<  stions." 


MEDICAL   EEPOET.  107 

Moreover,  due  variety  in  the  food  is  but  second  ID 
importance  to  sufficient  quantity.  (See  Pereira  on  food 
and  diet.)  In  fact,  the  last  named  physiologist  declares 
that  "  no  matter  how  nutritious  food  may  be,  it  is  far  better 
to  exchange  it  for  that  even  less  nutritious,  than  to  continue 
an  unvarying  sameness." 

And  as  to  the  relation  of  food  to  temperature : 

,,  T  T.I  •  Relation  of 

"  In   temperate   climates,  the  seasons  exercise  an  food  to  tempe 
rature. 

influence,  not  only  over  the  quality,  but  the 
quantity  of  food  taken  into  the  system.  Most  persons  eat 
more  in  winter  than  in  summer.  The  cause  is  doubtless  to 
be  found  in  the  fact,  that,  in  cold  weather  a  greater  quantity 
of  respiratory  food  is  required  in  order  to  keep  up  the 
animal  heat,  than  in  hot  weather,  when  the  external  tem 
perature  more  nearly  approaches  the  temperature  of  the 
body.*  "He  who  is  well  fed,"  observes  Sir  John  Eoss, 
"resists  cold  better  than  the  man  who  is  stinted,  while  the 
starvation  from  cold  follows  but  too  soon  a  starvation  in 
food."  And  Sir  John  Franklin,  in  his  narrative  of  a  jour 
ney  to  the  Polar  sea,  writes,  "no  quantity  of  clothing  could 
keep  us  warm  while  we  fasted."  "In  tropical  climates  and 
in  hot  seasons,  the  system  requires  a  smaller  quantity  of 
food  than  in  colder  countries  and  in  cold  seasons."f  Indi 
viduals  whose  business  requires  much  bodily  exertion,  or 
that  they  should  spend  much  of  their  time  in  the  open  air, 
eat  more  than  those  of  sedentary  habits.  And  we  have, 
from  the  authority  of  Carpenter,  in  his  work  on  Human 
Physiology,  that  "a  considerable  reduction  in  the  amount 
of  food  sufficient  for  men  in  regular  active  exercise,  is,  of 


*  Hammond's  Hygiene, 
f  Pereira,  Food  and  Diet. 


108  MEDICAL   REPORT. 

course,  admissible  where  little  bodily  exertion  ig  required, 
and  where  there  is  less  exposure  to  low  temperatures." 
_  ..     ...      The  ration  of  the  British  Soldier,  is,  at  home 

Ration  of  the  '        ' 

stations,  sixteen  ounces  of  bread  and  twelve 
ounces  of  uncooked  meat ;  at  foreign  stations,  four  ounces 
more  of  meat  are  allowed.  Any  extras  are  bought  by  the 
soldier  out  of  his  own  funds.  The  French  soldier  in  the 
Crimea  had  forty-two  and  five-eighths  ounces  of  solid  food, 
about  ten  and  a  half  ounces  of  which  were  animal,  the 
rest  vegetable.  In  time  of  peace  his  ration  is  less.  "  The 
American  soldier  is  better  fed  than  any  other  in  the  world.. 
This  is  proved  by  the  healthy  condition  of  the  troops. 
Scurvy,  one  of  the  first  diseases  to  make  its  appearance  when 
the  food  is  of  inferior  quality,  has  prevailed  to  so  slight  an 
extent,  &c."*  His  ration  of  solid  foodf  is  about  fifty-two 
and  a  half  ounces,  with  a  fair  range  for  variety ;  and  extra 
issues  of  pickles,  fruits,  and  special  vegetables,  are  made, 
when  the  medical  officers  deem  them  necessary.  This 
ration  is  more  than  the  man  is  generally  able  to  consume, 
and  the  surplus  is  resold  to  the  government  for  his 
benefit. 

The  rations  issued  for  the  rebel  soldiers  held 
Rebe^piixmerB  ^  our  government  as  prisoners  of  war,  were  the 
tions.-Katkms.  same  as  for  the  United  States  garrison  troops  and 

soldiers  on  active  service,  except  the  bread  ration, 
which  was  four  ounces  less;  and  the  amount  given,  was,  of 
solid  food,  forty -three  ounces,  besides  extra  vegetables,  etc., 
sometimes,  which  were  (See  Captain  Clark's  evidence)  pro 
cured  by  sale  of  the  surplus,  as  above  noted  in  the  case  of 

*  Hammond's  Hygiene. 

j  Assuming  soft  bread  and  fresh  beef  as  the  basis. 


MEDICAL   REPORT.  109 

the  Federal  troops.  No  material  change  was  made  until 
the  first  of  June,  186-1,  since  which  date  the  amount  given 
was  reduced  to  thirty-four  and  a  half  ounces,  while  the 
range  for  variety  of  articles  remained  unchanged,  and  from 
the  excess  of  the  rations  issued,  the  surplus  fund  for  the  use 
of  the  prisoners  was  larger  than  before.  That  this  amount 
will  be  sufficient  for  comfort  and  health  in  the  warm 
weather,  and  under  the  inactive  life  of  the  prisoner,  we 
must  infer  from  the  statements  of  Pereira,  Hammond,  and 
Carpenter  (above),  and  may  likewise  consider  proven  by 
the  fact,  that  at  Fort  Delaware,  even  in  the  cold  weather  of 
the  past  winters,  the  prisoners  could  not  consume  all  that 
was  given  them,  and  that  large 4  quantities  of  food  were 
secreted,  and  wasted  by  them.'*  By  authority  of  the  War 
Department,  the  same  KEGULATIOXS  are  observed  at  all 
stations,  where  prisoners  of  war  are  held,f  and  of  course 
at  all  such  stations,  the  same  general  condition  of  things 
must  prevail. 

Our  evidence  exhibits  that  all  needful  clothing 
and  blankets,  in   some  cases  even   to  excess,  as  SXSSJS1' 
well  as  good  and  adequate  shelter,  with  sufficient 
fuel  for  comfortable  warmth,  were  furnished  by  the  United 
States  Government  to  the  rebel  prisoners. 

In  our  visit  to  Fort  Delaware  we  passed  through 
the  barracks  and  enclosures  containing  about  eight  condition  of 

Rebel  Prison- 
thousand  prisoners.     We  observed  that  these  men ers- 

were  in  good  physical  condition,  and  presented  the 
aspect  of  health  and  strength ;  as  was  the  case  at  other  sta 
tions,  as  seen  by  the  appended  evidence.     The  careful  atten- 

*  See  also  letter  from  Quartermaster-General  Meigs,  appended, 
f  See  Appendix. 


110  MEDICAL   EEPOET. 

tion  to  cleanliness  urged,  and  sometimes  even  enforced,  by 
the  United  States  officers  in  charge,  doubtless  contributes  to 
their  general  good  condition  in  no  small  degree.  We  were 
unable  to  observe  any  difference  between  the  treatment  of 
the  rebels  and  the  United  States  soldiers  in  the  hospital  at 
Fort  Delaware,  or  in  Lincoln  Hospital  near  Washington. 
The  evidence  proves  the  same  arrangements  of  ward,  and 
bed,  and  diet,  to  have  been  made,  with  all  other  necessary 
appliances,  for  the  rebel  as  for  the  Union  soldier,  in  the 
time  of  sickness,  at  all  stations  where  prisoners  of  war  are 
held  by  the  United  States  Government. 

When  we  come  to  investigate  the  testimony  in 
nt^of  relation  to  the  treatment  of  United  States  soldiers 
r<  3   while  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels,  we  find 
a  most  serious  difference  from  the  state  of  things 
above  described. 

We  learn  from  those  returned  that  the  rations 
given  them  varied  at  different  times  and  places, 


Union  prison- 

but  their  declarations  all  concur  in  this,  that  they 

had  not  food  enough  to  sustain  their  strength,  nor 

to  satisfy  their  hunger  ;  and  though  these  men  were  held 

captive  at  various  times,  and  for  a  varying  period,  and  at 

various  places,  yet  their  average  statements  are  the  same 

with  little  limitation. 
I 

Wheat  bread  was  given  to  some  of  them  for  a  short  time, 

but  the  bread  was  generally  made  of  corn  meal. 

rQaS.ityof    The  largest  daily  ration  of  wheat  bread  of  which 

we  have  evidence,  would  weigh  about  eleven  (11) 

ounces,  and  the  smallest  but   little   more   than  three  (3) 

ounces.     The  largest  daily  ration  of  corn  bread,  was  in 

bulk  from  thirty-one  (31)  to  thirty-two  (32)  cubic  inches, 

representing  rather  more  than  twelve  (12)  ounces  of  corn 


MEDICAL  REPORT.  Ill 

meal,  while  the  smallest  represented  but  four  (4)  ounces. 
The  ration  of  meat  was,  in  a  few  instances,  from  four  (4)  to 
six  (6)  ounces,  but  generally  about  two  ounces,  though  in 
some  cases  it  was  less  than  this. 

The  meat  was  irregularly  given ;  not  often  daily,  and  to 
some,  only  at  intervals  of  days,  or  even  several  weeks,  and 
when  meat  was  served,  the  bread  was,  in  many  instances 
diminished. 

About  half  a  pint  of  soup,  containing  sweet  potato,  or 
generally  beans  or  peas  in  amount  about  two  ounces,  was 
sometimes  given,  with  or  without  meat  in  different  cases. 
The  beans  and  peas  were  occasionally  given  raw  and  dry. 

The  maximum  amount  of  solid  food  for  one  day, 
described,  was,  ...  10  oz.  bread. 

6  oz.  beef. 
With  half  a  pint  of  soup  made  of  the  water 

in  which  the  beef  was  boiled,  and  contain 
ing  about  two  ounces  of  beans  or  peas,  and 
therefore  representing,  .  .  2  oz. 

Total,       ...  18  oz. 

The  minimum  amount  was  about,         .  4  oz.  bread. 

1  oz.  beef. 

Total,       .  .  .  5  oz. 

And  so,  between  five  (5)  and  eighteen  (18)  ounces  the  ra 
tions  varied,  and  in  the  article  of  meat,  especially,  was  the 
great  deficiency. 

But  it  is  necessary  to  note  the  character  also  of 
the  rations.     The  quality  of  the  wheat  bread  ap-  Qua™yeofand 

the  Ration. 

pears  to  have  been  good,  but  that  of  the  corn 


112  MEDICAL  EEPOBT. 

bread  decidedly  the  reverse.  It  was  made  of  meal  which 
was  coarsely  ground  and  rough,  contained  all  the  hull  (or 
bran),  often  whole  grains  of  corn,  with  fragments  of  cob  or 
of  husk  intermingled  ;  frequently  ill-baked,  or  over-baked, 
and  sour  and  musty  withal. 

The  soup  was,  by  universal  declaration  of  the  witnesses, 
repulsive  in  odor  and  disgusting  in  flavor.  It  appears  to 
have  been  made  of  the  water  in  which  the  beef  was  boiled. 
Gravel  and  sand  were  the  least  objectionable  of  the  impur 
ities  found  in  it.  The  beans  and  peas  issued  were  generally 
worm-eaten,  and  contained  these  insects  in  quantities,  so 
that  they  would  be  floating  on  the  surface,  or  intermixed 
throughout  the  mass  of  soup  and  beans. 

Dunglison,  in  the  work  before  quoted,  says 
thVSunsf  that,  "  Corn  bread  with  those  unaccustomed  to 
its  use,  is  apt  to  produce  diarrhoea,  in  consequence 
probably  of  the  presence  of  the  husk,*  with  which  it  is  always 
more  or  less  mixed,  &c. ;"  and  it  is  "  but  little  adapted  for 
those  liable  to  bowel  affections,  &c."  And  Dr.  Hassall 
says,  "  In  those  unaccustomed  to  its  use,  maize  is  considered 
to  excite,  and  to  keep  up  a  tendency  to  diarrhoea.'^  Every 
one  is  aware  of  the  laxative  influence  of  so-called  bran 
bread, f  which  is  due  to  the  physical  action  of  the  hull  of 
the  grain  upon  the  delicate  lining  membrane  of  the  stom 
ach  and  bowels,  acting  thereupon  as  an  excitant  or  irritant, 
though  tempered  by  the  bland  influence  of  the  wheaten 
flour.  Now  what  must  be  the  result  when  the  meal  is  of 
corn,  and  coarse,  and  intermixed  with  hull  and  grain  entire, 


*  Prof.  Dunglison  informs  me  that  by  the  word  husk,  he  intends  to 
imply  that  which  is  commonly  denominated  bran. 
t  See  Pereira,  Food  and  Diet. 


MEDICAL  EEPORT.  H3 

with  liusk  and  cob  in  fragments,  among  our  Northern 
troops,  who  are,  for  the  most  part,  "  unaccustomed  to  the 
use  of  corn  meal?"  We  see  by  the  evidence,  that  some  of 
the  men  observed  the  influence  of  this  bread,  in  producing 
the  diarrhoea  with  which  so  many  were  afflicted. 

The  character  of  the  soup,  as  above  described,  would 
stamp  it  as  entirely  unfit  for  food,  and  upon  men  already 
suffering  from  diarrhoea,  the  evil  influence  of  such  a  com 
pound  is  but  too  plainly  to  be  imagined.  The  evidence 
shows  that  some  could  not  eat  it,  though  hungry  to  star 
vation. 

The  average  amount  of  meat  allowed,  was  so 
small  that  it  is  not  worthy  of  special  considera-  g£tiSiJe0*y ia 
tion ;  and  as  to  the  variety  and  cliange  of  diet,  on«§. 
upon  which  all  physiologists  lay  so  great  stress, — 
it  is  not  in  the  Kecord, — there  was  none  of  it. 

How  do  these  amounts  and  qualities  compare 

•  •  T        Comparison  of 

With  the  maximum  forty -three  ounces,  or  the  "a0™0^?11 
minimum  thirty -four  and  a  half  ounces,  of  stand- pr 
ard  Government  food,  of  excellent  quality,  with  abundant 
room  for  variety,  and  extra  issues  of  fresh  vegetables 
according  to  necessity,  which  the  United  States  Govern 
ment  allows  its  prisoners  ?  The  question  may  be  answered 
by  contrasting  the  exhausted,  the  attenuated,  the  melan 
choly,  the  imbecile,  the  dying,  and  the  dead,  Union  soldiers, 
returning  home  from  Eichniond — with  the  cheerful,  healthy, 
and  vigorous,  Southerners,  held  at,  or  released  from,  the 
various  United  States  stations  referred  to  in  the  appended 
testimony. 

Let  us  look  now  at  the-  consequence  of  de 
ficiency  of  food,  as  explained  by  students  and  gffilte23.of 
observers  of  the  subject. 


114:  MEDICAL    KEPOR1. 

In  the  Medical  and  Surgical  history  of  the  British  army 
which  served  in  Turkey  and  the  Crimea,  we  find  that 
"during  January,  1855,  by  the  deficiency  of  food,  the  effi 
ciency  of  the  whole  army  was  seriously  compromised. 
Disease  was  simply  the  more  overt  manifestation  of  a 
pathological  state  of  the  system,  which  was  all  but  uni 
versal,  and  merely  indicated  the  worst  grades  of  it.  Fever 
and  affections  of  the  bowels  represented  the  forms  in  which 
morbid  actions  were  usually  presented,  while  gangrene  and 
scurvy  indicated  those  privations  and  that  exposure  from 
which  these  diseases  were  mainly  derived."  Again,  "in 
starvation,  the  tissues  of  the  body  are  consumed  for  the 
production  of  heat,  and  rapid  loss  of  weight  is  the  conse 
quence.  The  other  vital  processes  all  involve  decompo 
sition  of  the  substance  of  organs,  and  add  to  the  loss  which 
the  body  undergoes.  From  insufficient  food  for  a 
ducedS6byr£-  few  weeks,  disease  is  almost  invariably  induced- 

euffieient  food.  . 

typlius  and  typhoid  fever,  scurvy  and  ansemia  are 
the  consequences."*  Dr.  Carpenter,  in  his  Human  Physi 
ology,  says,  "  the  prisoners  confined  in  Mill  Bank  Peniten 
tiary,  in  1823,  who  had  previously  received  an  allowance 
of  from  thirty-one  to '  thirty-three  ounces  of  dry  nutriment 
daily,  had  this  allowance  suddenly  reduced  to  twenty-one 
ounces, — animal  food  being  almost  entirely  excluded  from 
the  diet  scale.  They  were  at  the  same  time  subjected  to 
a  low  grade  of  temperature,  and  to  considerable  exertion  ; 
in  the  course  of  a  few  tueeks,  the  health  of  a  large  proportion 
of  the  inmates  began  to  give  way.  The  first  symptoms 
were  loss  of  color,  and  diminution  of  health  and  strength, 
subsequently  diarrhoea,  dysentery,  scurvy,  and  lastly  ady~ 

*  Hammond's  Hygiene. 


MEDICAL  REPORT.  115 

namic  fevers,  or  headache,  vertigo,  convulsions,  maniacal 
delirium,  apoplexy,  &c.  After  death,  ulcerations  of  the 
mucous  lining  of  the  alimentary  canal  were  very  commonly 
found ;  fifty-two  per  cent,  were  thus  affected.  That  the 
reduction  of  the  allowance  of  food  was  the  main  source  of 
the  epidemic,  was  proved,  *  *  *  &c."  * 

We  appeal  here  to  Chossat's  Inquiries,  resulting 

•  n  t   •  •  n*  r>  Insufficient 

in  the  proof  of  this  curious  effect  of  insufficient  *££*?&?' 
nutriment,  that  it  produces  an  incapability  of 
digesting  even  the  small  amount  consumed."  "  So  that  in 
the  end,  the  results  are  the  same  as  those  of  entire  depriva 
tion  of  food,  the  total  amount  of  loss  being  almost  exactly 
identical,  but  its  rate  being  less." 

But  in  addition  to  a  starvation  diet,  our  evi- 

Privations 

dence   furnishes   proof  of  confinement  to   over,   gjjf  **••** 
crowded   rooms,  without  proper   ventilation — of 
Want  of  clothing — want  of  shelter — and  denial  of  suitable 
means  of  warmth,  whether  by  blankets  or  by  fuel,  and  this 
even  during  the  fall,  winter,  and  spring  just  passed. 

"Overcrowding,  imperfect  ventilation,  and  want  of 
cleanliness,  are  three  conditions  usually  associated,  £5Ig;Po1" 
and  may  be  designated  by  the  single  term  Crowd- 
Poisoning"*  The  evidence  exhibits  that  about  twenty 
square  feet  was,  in  some  instances,  all  the  superficial  space 
I  permitted  to  each  man  confined  in  prison.  And,  on  Belle 
Isle,  it  would  appear  that  for  a  time  there  was  little  varia 
tion  from  the  same  area.  "The  air  of  crowded  camps  and 
habitations  becomes  contaminated  through  emanations 
given  off  during  respiration,  through  effluvia  from  the 
skin,  and  by  decomposition  of  the  various  excreta.  The 
nitrogenized  matter  carried  into  the  air  from  the  skin,  and 

*  Woodward  ;  Camp  Diseases. 


116  MEDICAL   KEPORT.  , 

the  products  arising  from  the  decomposition  of  the  excreta, 
are  sources  of  deadly  mischief.  The  effects  of  overcrowd 
ing  are  not  only  manifested  by  the  increased  violence  and 
the  aclynamic  character  of  all  diseases  occurring  among 
those  exposed,  but  the  development  and  severity  of  the 
adynamic  fevers  appear  particularly  connected  with  this 
cause."*  And  again,  "  To  the  organic  matters  emanating 
from  the  human  body,  more  than  to  any  other  cause,  the 
injurious  results  of  overcrowding  are  to  be  ascribed." 
"The  proofs  are  ample,  that  the  emanations  from  the 
Ifuman  body  are  of  a  decidedly  deleterious  character,  when 
present  in  large  amounts  in  the  atmosphere  inhaled.  They 
are  absorbed  by  the  clothing,  and  even  the  walls  of  the 
room  take  them  up  and  retain  them  for  a  long  time."f 
"  If  animals  be  kept  crowded  together  in  ill-ventilated 
apartments,  they  speedily  sicken.":):  "The  continued 
respiration  of  an  atmosphere  charged  with  the  exhalations 
of  the  lungs  and  skin,  is  the  most  potent  of  all  the  predis 
posing  causes  of  disease."! 

But  Dr.  Woodward  alludes  to  "  want  of  cleanli- 
Smjetred""  ness"  as  one  of  the  elements  of  ordinary  crowd- 
poisoning.  Far  more  than  ordinary  was  this 
"  want"  in  the  rebel  prisons,  especially  on  Belle  Isle.  A 
reference  to  the  evidence  will  show  that  accumulation  of 
filth  of  the  most  noisome  character  was  compelled  by 
prison  discipline;  that  important  accommodations  were 
denied  during  the  night  hours,  resulting  in  unavoidable 
soiling  of  the  quarters  of  the  prisoners,  while  the  means  of 
bathing,  though  convenient,  were  to  so  great  an  ext*r° 


*  Woodward.  f  Hammond. 

J  Dunglison.  §  Carpenter. 


MEDICAL  REPORT.  117 

denied  the  prisoners,  as  to  produce,  in  a  large  number 
of  them,  a  condition  of  the  skin,  which  is  not  only  a  disease 
in  itself,  but  is  also  a  cause  of  disorders  various  and 
grave.* 

We  observed  the  surface  of  the  bodies  of  a 

Condition  of 

number  who  suffered  thus;  it  was  of  most  re-  j£iou  i)rison- 
markable  aspect;  appearing  as  though  it  had  been 
covered  with  a  heavy  coat  of  common  varnish,  which  had 
dried,  and  cracked,  and  was  peeling  up  in  scales  of  every 
size.  To  the  touch,  it  was  as  sand-paper  of  irregular 
quality.  The  cuticle  —  both  effete  and  living  —  lay  in 
masses,  separated  by  fissures  of  varying  extent  and  depth, 
through  which  watery  and  bloody  fluids  were  seen  exud 
ing.  The  soles  of  the  feet  were  like  the  sole  of  a  plasterers 
shoe  —  white,  brown  and  yellow  ;  the  cuticle  dried  and 
broken,  and  laminated  variously. 

The  functions  of  the  skin,  upon  which  physiologists  lay 
so  great  stress,  are  here  almost  entirely  unperformed,  and 
hence  we  have  "  gastric  disturbances,  and  diarrhoeas,"  with 
suppression  of  that  aeration  of  the  blood  —  that  true  respira 
tion,  which,  physiologists  tell  us,  takes  place  through  the 
skin.  Hence  the  lungs  are  overtaxed,  and  congestions  are 
induced.  And  when  to  this  we  add  the  depraved  state  of 
the  blood  of  the  sufferers,  and  their  exposures  to  cold,  and 
wet,  and  storm,  by  day  and  night,  we  have,  in  full  quantity, 
those  general  and  special  conditions,  which  induce  pulmonary 
diseases  of  every  grade  and  character. 

On  the  question  of  clothing  and  warmth  ;  from 

Clothing  and 

what  has  been  shown  above,  a  corollary  is  directly  ' 


deducible,  viz  :    That  if  food  be  in  limited  quantity,  low 


See  Surgeon  Ely's  evidence. 


118  MEDICAL  REPORT. 

temperature  should  be  avoided,  and  external  warmth  duly 
maintained.  "  Artificial  warmth  may  be  made  to  take  the 
place  of  nourishment  otherwise  required.  And  there  is 
adequate  ground  for  considering  death  by  starvation,  as 
really  death  from  cold.  The  temperature  of  the  body  is 
maintained  with  little  diminution  till  the  fat  is  consumed, 
and  then  rapidly  falls,  unless  it  be  kept  up  by  heat  exter 
nally  applied,"*  Now  not  only  was  external  heat  not 
granted  by  the  rebels  to  their  prisoners,  but  their  blankets 
•were  generally  taken  from  them,  as  also  some  of  thei' 
personal  clothing. 

Further,  "the  sick  and  feeble  will  not  bear  tlu. 

The  sick  and  . 

l*     low  temperature,  which  to  those  in  good  condition. 


acts  as  a  healthful  stimulant.  In  diseases  attended  with  defi 
cient  power  of  emulation,  congelation  of  the  tissues  is  liable 
to  occur,  from  the  effects  of  a  temperature  which  could  not 
give  rise  to  it  in  a  healthy  subject."  We  see  that  diarrhoea, 
scurvy,  —  and  these  two  disorders  existing  coincidcntly  "  in 
the  majority  of  cases  of  diarrhoea,"  —  congestion  of  the  lunga 
of  atonic  character,  and  "  debilitas,"  (as  the  medical  records 
of  the  hospital  have  it,)  all  stand  out  prominently  in  the 
evidence,  as  being  an  almost  constant  condition  among  those 
who  have  been  prisoners  in  Danville,  Va.,  Richmond,  Va.; 
and  especially  on  Belle  Isle.  The  authorities  hereinbefore 
quoted,  show  that  these  formidable  disorders  are  the 
legitimate  offspring  of  the  treatment  to  which  our  men  have 
been  subjected  while  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels.  Shall  we 
be  surprised  that  diseases  obey  the  laws  of  their  produc 
tion,  or  that  they  flourish,  luxuriant  and  rank,  in  a  soil 
specially  prepared  for  their  reception?  And  are  not  all 

*  Carpenter. 


MEDICAL   EEPOET.  119 

these  "  diseases  attended  with  deficient  power  of  circu 
lation?"  Are  not  the  subjects  of  the  same  "sick  and 
feeble  ?"  Is  it  at  all  surprising  that  they  cannot  bear  the 
low  temperature  of  a  winter  on  Belle  Isle,  —  clad  only  in 
worn-out  or  scanty  clothing,  —  with  inadequate,  or  with  no 
shelter,  —  with  little  fire,  or  generally  none  at  all,  —  and 
having  no  resting  place  but  the  ground,  in  mud  and  frost 
and  snow  ?  Nay,  is  it  not  a  cause  for  wonder  that  "  conge 
lation  of  the  tissues"  was  not  even  more  common  among 
them  ?  Our  evidence  tells  of  many  men  freezing  on  Belle 
Isle,  to  loss  of  limb,  and  more,  of  life. 

"We  saw  cases  of  "  amputation  by  frost"  at  the 
United  States  Hospitals,  at  Baltimore,  and  Annap-     Men  frozen. 
olis,  and  the   "Quarterly  Keport  of  the  hospitals  for  the 
Federal  prisoners,  Richmond,  Ya.,"  (appended)  shows  that 
of  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-nine  patients 
admitted  in  January,  February,  and  March,  1864,  there  were 
fifteen  cases  of  gelatio,  (or  freezing)  and  fifty  of  gangrene 
from  frozen  feet  !     And  from  the  same  document 
we  find  that  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty- 


diseased 

one,  out  of  the  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  as  above- 
seventy  -nine,  were  affected  with  debility,  adynarnic  fevers, 
diarrhoea,  dysentery,  diseases  of  the  chest,  and  scurvy  —  the 
very  effects  proved  above  to  be  produced  by  starvation,  cold, 
over-crowding,  filth,  and  exposure;  and,  as  already  men 
tioned,  the  testimony  of  the  United  States  surgeons  at 
Annapolis  and  Baltimore,  shows  that  the  great  majority  of 
our  soldiers  received  from  rebel  prisons  suffered  under  the 
same  affections.  These  surgeons  further  declare,  that  these 
diseases  did  not  yield  to  ordinary  medical  treat 
ment;  that  they  were  most  successfully  managed 
by  "nullifying  the  cause?1  that  is,  by  nutrition  and 


120  MEDICAL  REPORT. 

stimulation,  with  especial  attention  to  cleanliness  and  fresh 
air,  medical  agencies  being  only  accessories,  and  sometimes 
not  resorted  to  at  all. 

M.  Fleury  (cours  d'hygiene)  says  :  "  Sous  le  nom 
liandaers°.n  in  de  jilvrG  de  famine,  M.  de  Meersman  a  trace  un 
tableau  complet  et  methodique  de  Vttat  morlide 
que  d&veloppe  V  alimentation  insuffisante,  et  qu'il  dit  avoir 
observe  en  1846  et  1847  dans  les  Flandres  beiges."  He 
then  recounts  the  article,  which  is  too  long  to  bear  quota 
tion  here,  but  it  is  a  most  singularly  accurate  description  of 
that  which  our  soldiers  returned  from  rebel  prisons  state  in 
regard  to  their  own  feelings  and  sufferings,  —  of  those  con 
ditions  which  the  United  States  surgeons  at  the  Annapolis 
and  Baltimore  hospitals  have  delineated  to  us,  —  and  which 
we  witnessed  and  observed  in  our  visits  to  the  institutions 
above  mentioned. 

It  is  utterly  incorrect  to  charge  the  bodily 
n"  attenuation,  the  mental  imbecility,  and  the  startling 

mortalty  of  J  ' 

uSoS  prison-  mortality,  which  prevail  so  largely  among  the  men 
from  the  prisons  of  the  South,  upon  the  mere 
diseases  of  which  they  are  the  subjects.  If  a  man  swallow 
a  poisonous  dose  of  arsenic,  he  will  suffer  pain,  vomiting, 
diarrhoea,  ha3morrhages,  and  convulsions,  even  unto  death  ; 
are  these  "more  overt  manifestations,"  —  these  necessary 
consequences  of  the  morbific  agent  applied,  —  to  be  con 
sidered  as  the  causes  of  the  death  ?  Or  shall  we  go  to  the 
true  first  cause  direct,  and  say  "  the  man  died  from  poison 
ing  by  arsenic?" 

So  have  our  men  died,  —  from  cold  and  exposure,  from 
crowd-poisoning,  from  starvation  and  from  privation,  while 
the  way  to  death  was  roughly  paved  with  disease  of  body 


duio'u  °arcdn 

mortalit 


MEDICAL  EEPOBT.  121 

and  of  mina,  —  mere  minor  manifestations  of  these  allied 
powers  of  evil. 

But  we  further  find  a  similar  treatment,  —  similar 

Treatment  of 

in  kind,  though  modified  in  degree,—  dealt  out  to 


the  wounded  and  the  sick  on  Belle  Isle  and  in 
Kichmond.  The  evidence  of  those  who  have  been  under 
the  care  of  the  surgeons  at  these  stations  is  corroborated  by 
the  testimony  of  Colonel  Farnsworth,  and  by  that  of 
Surgeons  Ferguson  and  Eichards.  The  latter  lay  stress 
upon  the  offensive,  and  "  utterly  unfit,"  character  of  the  beds 
and  bedding,  and  declare  that  the  diet  was  "  entirely  insuf 
ficient  to  give  them  a  proper  chance  of  recovery,"  and 
state  further  that,  there  was  a  deficiency  of  medical  sup 
plies  in  the  hospital  for  Federal  prisoners,  while  the  evi 
dence  is  before  us  that  at  General  Hospital  No.  4,  Richmond, 
the  Confederate  soldier  had  "as  much  good  food  as  he  could 
eat,  with  good  bedding  and  sheets  ;"  and  evidence  to  the  same 
end  appears  in  relation  to  "  Confederate  hospitals  in  the  field." 

On  the  subject  of  the  mortality  of  Union  pris 
oners  in  rebel  hands,  we  find  that  the  "  Quarterly  ; 
Report"   above  referred  to,   exhibits  a   record,1 
which,  though  startling  and  fearful,  is  yet  easily, 
explained  by  the  foregoing  considerations.    For  what  can 
be  expected  of  men  worn  out,  almost  unto  death,  by  the 
want  of  those  things  which  are  necessary  for  the  body,  — 
and  then  further  reduced  by  disease,  —  when  subjected  to 
such  privations  and  noxious  influences  as  those  described  by 
Surgeons  Ferguson  and  Richards  ?     This  "  Report  "  shows 
a  mortality  among  the  sick  of  rather  more  than  fifty  per 
cent.  !*     How  does  this  compare  with  that  at  the  United 

*  Four  deaths  only  occurred  from  wounds. 


122  MEDICAL   REPORT. 

Mortaiit  inu  States  Army  General  Hospital  at  Annapolis, 
which  is  only  eighteen  per  cent.?  Yet  the 
cases  at  Annapolis  were  all  brought  by  flag-of-truce  boat 
from  City  Point,  Virginia,  and  were  of  the  same  general 
class  as  those  in  the  "  Hospitals  for  the  Federal  Prisoners, 
Eichmond,  Virginia." 

Further,   we   find  that  "  a   Confederate   official,   whose 

evidence  cannot  be  questioned,  declared  that  of 
Beu?!"!.**  tne  numbers  remaining  at  Belle  Isle,  then  about 

eight  thousand,  (8,000),  about  twenty-five  died 
daily,  andthat  it  would  be  but  a  few  weeks  before  the  deaths 
would  couDt  fifty  a  day."  From  this,  we  have  a  mortality 
at  Belle  Isle  in  a  ratio  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  per  cent. 
per  year,  with  double  this  amount  in  prospect. 

Again ;  the  Macon  Journal  and  Messenger  says 
AuSnvVne.  that  "  there  are  now  over  twenty-seven  thousand 

(27,000)  prisoners  at  Andersonville,  Georgia, 
among  whom  the  deaths  are  from  fifty  to  sixty  a  day,"  or 
in  a  ratio  of  about  from  sixty-eight  to  eighty-one  per  cent,  per 
year* 

Turn  now  to  the  mortality  among  the  rebel 
rSSware.  prisoners  at  Fort  Delaware,  where,  in  addition  to 

the  more  ordinary  causes  of  sickness  and  death 
among  soldier-prisoners,  we  find  "small-pox,  the  majority 
of  the  prisoners  not  having  been  vaccinated  before  they 
came  here."  Also,  a  "  prostrated  condition  of  the  prisoners 
from  Vicksburg,  a  great  many  of  whom  had  to  be  carried, 


*  Since  this  was  written  a  sworn  statement  has  come  to  our  Lands, 
(a  copy  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  Supplement,)  whence  it  appears 
that  the  mortality  at  Andersonville  had  increased  rapidly,  and  had 
advanced  in  fact  to  a  ratio  of  from  one  hundred  and  thirty-Jive  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty -two  per  cent,  per  year. 


MEDICAL   REPORT.  123 

on  their  arrival  here,  from  the  boat  to  the  hospital,  and 
many  of  whom  represented  that  they  had  been  limited  to 
half  and  quarter  rations  during  the  siege  of  Yicksburg  ;" 
and  "prisoners  from  Yicksburg  and  the  Mississippi  Valley 
laboring  under  miasmatic  influences,  under  which  a  great 
number  of  them  died."  Yet  with  all  these  extra  causes  of 
death,  the  mortality  for  the  entire  year  just  closed,  amonnts 
to  less  than  twenty  -nine  per  cent.,  and  when  these  special 
causes  ceased  to  exist,  it  diminished  rapidly,  and  during  the 
three  months  of  April,  May,  and  June,  it  had  fallen  to 
below  a  ratio  of  ten  and  a  half  per  cent,  per  year,  and  was 
still  diminishing,  while  the  sum  total  of  prisoners  was  yet  : 
increasing. 

Again;    at   Johnson's   Island,    Sandusky   bay, 
Ohio,  —  the   climate   of    which    station   has  been  JJhnfoK  aL 

land. 

stigmatized  by  our  enemies  as  insalubrious,  and 
in  high  degree  pernicious  to  the  constitution  of  the  South 
erner,  —  the  deaths  among  the  rebel  prisoners  during  the 
year  1863,  with  the  prevalence  of  measles  and  small-pox, 
amounted  to  less  than  nine  per  cent.  ;  and  during  May  and 
June  of  this  year,  there  were  but  six  deaths,  that  is,  in  the 
ratio  of  less  than  two  per  cent,  per  year. 

By  such  contrasts  of  mortality  at  United  States  stations, 
and  at  rebel  stations,  argument  and  comment  are  struck 
dumb. 

There  are  still  others,  who  are  destined  to  fall 


victims  to  what  we  are  compelled  by  the  evidence 
to  consider  a  carefully  devised  plan  for  the  de 
struction  of  Union  soldiers,  by  weapons  as  surely,  though 
not  so  mercifully,  fatal,  as  shot  and  shell  and  bayonet.    We 
refer  to  such,  as,  being  broken  down  in  mind  and  intellect, 
and  vitiated  in  bodily  vigor,  and  diseased  beyond  hope  of 


124:  MEDICAL   KEPOKT. 

recovery,  by  all  the  morbific  causes  which  the  rebel 
authorities  have  arrayed  against  them  during  their  im 
prisonment; — and  who  being  discharged  from  their  coun 
try's  service  for  disability, — will,  in  weeks  and  months  to 
come,  swell  the  local  lists  of  mortality  in  the  districts  of 
their  own  homes. 

"W  e  have  been  much  gratified  to  find,  not  only 
Sturgeons,  from  the  sworn  testimony,  but  from  private  con 
versation  with  a  very  large  number  of  -our 
returned  prisoners,  that  the  treatment  and  attention  which 
they  received  at  the  hands  of  the  rebel  surgeons  was  Idnd 
and  sympathizing ;  their  necessities  were  evidently  as  faith 
fully  ministered  to,  by  these  medical  officers,  (with  one 
exception  only,)  as  the  provision  made  by  the  authorities  of 
the  rebel  government  would  allow. 

Kespectfully  submitted, 

ELLERSLIE  WAIiLA€E. 

July,  1864. 


EVIDENCE 


TAKEN  BY  THE  COMMISSION. 


ft 

i 


(125) 


EVIDENCE 


BELATUfG  TO 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION   PRISONERS 


BY    THE 


(127) 


EVIDENCE 

OP 

OFFICERS  AND  SOLDIERS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  ARMY* 

Returned  after  Confinement  in  Rebel  Prisons. 


Testimony  taken  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  at  United 

States  Army  General  Hospital,  Division  No.  i, 

May  3ist,  A.  D.  1864. 


COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT : 

DR.  VALENTINE  MOTT,  DR.  ELLERSLIE  WALLACE, 

DR.  EDWARD  DELAFIELD;       HON.  J.  I.  CLARK  HARE, 
Gouv.  M.  WILKINS,  ESQ.,      EEV.  TREADWELL  WALDEN. 

TESTIMONY   OF    PRIVATES   AND    NON-COM- 
MISSIONED   OFFICERS. 


Private  JOSEPH  GRIDER,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  come  from  East  Tennessee,  near  Knoxville ;  enlisted  in 
the  3d  East  Tennessee  infantry.  I  was  taken  prisoner  near 
home,  betrayed  by  a  citizen,  30th  October,  1863.  I  was  taken 
to  Atlanta,  Georgia,  and  then  taken  to  Richmond.  I  am  fifty- 
eight  years  of  age ;  my  health  was  pretty  good  when  I  was 

*  The  term  "United  States  Army"  is  used  here  and  elsewhere  foi 
convenience,  and  includes  both  the  regular  and  volunteer  service. 

9  (129) 


130  APPENDIX.       , 

last  captured.  The  first  time  I  was  balled  and  chained  at 
Macon,  Georgia.  I  escaped  from  Macon,  Georgia;  was 
taken  as  a  spy;  some  papers  found  on  me — recruiting 
papers,  "Was  put  in  Libby  Prison  first,  kept  there  about 
three  weeks,  then  was  removed  to  Danville.  I  first  escaped 
August  31st,  and  afterwards  was  retaken.  I  then  had  my 
uniform  on  as  I  had  before  when  I  was  taken  as  a  spy. 
When  I  reached  Eichmond  my  health  was  only  tolerable 
good,  which  was  occasioned  by  the  treatment  I  had  pre 
viously  received.  During  while  I  was  escaping  I  lived  on 
stolen  corn  and  stolen  pigs;  I  broiled  the  meat  in  the 
mountains ;  I  was  in  Libby  about  three  weeks ;  was  in 
Danville  over  five  months.  Left  Danville  16th  of  April  to 
come  here. 

In  Libby  my  daily  ration  was  corn  bread — very  rough. 
It  was  not  sieved — plenty  of  whole  grains  in  it ;  (witness 
gives  the  measure,  which  amounts  to  about  31*  cubic 
inches).  There  were  corn  husks  also  in  the  bread  as  large 
as  rny  two  fingers.  I  kept  a  journal,  but  it  was  taken  from 
me  ;  it  was  in  the  haversack.  Had  meat  sometimes,  about 
every  other  day,  about  two  ounces.  The  bread  weighed 
from  a  half  pound  to  three-quarters — for  two  men — as  some 
of  our  men  weighed  it.  I  could  have  eat  up  my  rations 
and  my  partner's  and  not  had  enough  at  that,  when  I  was 
well.  It  was  just  the  diet  that  made  me  sick ;  the  bread 
was  not  done  half  the  time. 

Everything  was  taken  from  me  but  my  dress  coat,  shirt, 
pants  and  boots ;  slept  on  the  floor ;  walked  many  a  night 
to  keep  warm ;  there  were  two  hundred  and  fourteen  men 
in  the  room  I  staid  in ;  we  laid  close  together,  about  a  foot 
apart. 

Eations  at  Libby  not  the  same  as  at  Danville ;  at  Dan 
ville  we  got  black  bread,  which  we  drew  until  it  gave  out, 
then  we  had  corn  bread.  There  were  lots  of  men  who 
walked  all  night  to  keep  warm.  At  Danville  we  got  bigger 

*  Representing  a  fraction  more  than  twelve  ounces  of  raw  corn  meal. 


TREATMENT  OF  UNION  PRISONERS  BY  EEBELS.       131 

of  the  black  bread  than  common ;  I  threw  it  up,  I  couldn't 
eat  it.  It  is  made  of  cane  seed ;  I  never  knew  it  to  be  eaten 
before.  I  was  in  Danville  about  four  weeks  before  the 
diarrhoea  came  on  me;  I  had  lost  flesh  before  and  since 
my  capture.  My  healthy  weight  is  from  two  hundred  and 
twelve  to  two  hundred  and  fourteen  pounds. 

I  went  into  the  hospital  when  I  had  the  diarrhoea ;  there 
got  pea-soup  and  a  slice  of  white  bread,  size  of  half  my 
hand.  I  found  bugs  in  the  soup,  that  was  boiled  out  of  the 
peas.  I  was  there  twelve  days  before  they  gave  me  any 
medicine,  or  told,  me  what  was  the  matter  with  me. 

My  diarrhoea  had  stopped  some  time  before  I  was  ex 
changed;  I  afterwards  had  the  pleurisy.  I  have  gained 
flesh  since  I  came  here.  They  abuse  the  Tennesseans  worse 
than  other  prisoners.  Our  food  was  about  the  same. 

They  would  not  let  you  look  out  the  windows.  They 
shot  seven  men  for  looking  out ;  one  was  shot  on  my  floor ; 
his  name  was  Eobert  McGill ;  he  got  well ;  he  had  just  put 
his  hand  out  to  throw  out  some  water. 

It  was  warm  enough  in  the  day-time  when  we  were 
stirring  about.  Sometimes  we  were  allowed  to  go  to  the 
privy  and  sometimes  we  were  not.  "We  have  been  kept  from 
it  so  much  as  three  days,  until  we  fouled  the  floor — this 
was  for  punishment  for  taking  a  little  slat  or  such  thing, 
by  those  who  were  on  the  lower  floor.  I  can  eat  two  such 
corn  cakes  as  I  got. 

JOSEPH  GEIDEE. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Private  JACKSON  0.  BROSHERS,  sworn  and  examined: — 

Age,  twenty  years ;  height,  six  feet  one  inch ;  ordinary 
weight  from  one  hundred  and  seventy  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  pounds.  I  have  weighed  but  one  hundred  and 


132  APPENDIX. 

sixty  pounds ;  improved  for  a  while  in  weight  in  the  army. 
I  enlisted  from  Spencer  county,  Indiana,  in  the  65th  Indi 
ana  ;  captured  December  16th ;  in  prison  at  Belle  Isle,  and 
at  Pemberton  buildings  in  Eichmond. 

Was  clad  with  great  coat  and  blanket  when  taken.  They 
were  taken  from  rne ;  they  gave  me  no  blankets  or  covering. 
I  wore  a  jacket,  shirt,  drawers,  &c.,  while  in  prison.  The 
prison  was  not  a  very  good  place  to  stay  ;  it  was  a  tent ;  I 
staid  in  it  at  Belle  Isle ;  the  rain  came  in ;  suffered  from  the 
cold ;  it  was  cold  weather ;  had  some  little  fire  part  of  the 
time ;  I  had  a  Sibley  tent  very  much  torn ;  the  fire  was  in 
the  centre. 

I  saw  a  good  many  men — over  three  hundred — without 
shelter  for  some  weeks ;  I  slept  on  an  old  coat  I  got  from  a 
rebel ;  no  man  ever  said  he  was  comfortable  in  prison ;  our 
men  would  sleep  upon  what  they  could  get ;  I  have  a  chronic 
diarrhoea ;  had  corn  bread  in  prison ;  before  I  came  away 
they  gave  us  more ;  I  had  enough  for  a  while  of  such  as 
was  given  us ;  no  whole  grains  in  my  bread ;  it  was  white 
corn  bread ;  had  pork  once ;  don't  know  how  often  I  had 
beef;  don't  think  seven  times ;  was  in  Belle  Isle  about  two 
and  a  half  months ;  got  a  piece  of  meat  about  the  size  of  my 
two  fingers.  I  judge  it  had  worms  in  it  by  the  holes  I  saw ; 
before  I  came  away,  I  got  enough  of  such  as  it  was,  but  at 
first  I  did  not. 

I  lost  my  strength  I  think  for  the  want  of  food ;  it  was  a 
month  and  a  half  that  we  had  no  meat ;  had  not  been  sick 
before  I  entered  the  army ;  most  of  the  men  complained  of 
being  hungry ;  they  appeared  ravenous  when  the  rations 
were  brought  in. 

I  have  gained  strength  since  I  have  been  here ;  I  have 
the  diarrhoea ;  had  it  about  two  weeks  before  I  came  from 
prison  ;  I  think  I  lost  my  strength  before  the  diarrhoea  be 
gan  ;  lost  my  flesh  afterwards ;  the  worst  of  my  weakness 
was  after  the  diarrhoea  commenced ;  could  not  have  walked 
three  miles  without  resting  before  the  diarrhoea  came  on. 

I  did  not  suffer  from  the  want  of  air,  but  the  want  of 


TREATMENT  OF   UNION  PRISONERS   BY   REBELS.       133 

room ;  I  suffered  from  cold  a  great  deal ;  about  fourteen  to 
fifteen  men  sleep  in  a  Sibley  tent  in  our  army. 

I  got  some  crackers  that  they  said  came  from  the  Sani 
tary  Commission,  a  cap,  overcoat  and  canteen ;  the  other 
men  got  some  clothing,  too,  that  they  said  came  from  the 
Sanitary  Commission. 

My  rations  were  somewhat  less  than  this  bible.* 

JACKSON  0.  BKOSHEES. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Corporal  WILLIAM  M.  SMITH,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am  twenty -two  years  old ;  from  Kentucky ;  enlisted  in 
the  8th  Kentucky  regiment  September  24th,  1861 ;  was 
captured  September  20th,  1863 ;  taken  to  Eichmond,  Vir 
ginia  ;  was  captured  at  the  battle  of  Chattanooga. 

I  was  put  in  Smith's  building,  after  being  some  six  days 
at  Belle  Isle ;  in  Smith's  building  about  two  months. 

Had  on  good  clothes  when  taken  in ;  they  took  blankets 
and  oil  cloth,  extra  shirt  and  drawers,  &c.,  from  me ;  while 
we  were  in  Eichmond,  there  were  some  Sanitary  clothes 
sent  there ;  they  were  needed  mighty  bad  ;  the  rebels  have 
taken  a  heap  of  Sanitary  clothing,  I  think. 

At  Belle  Isle,  laid  out  on  the  naked  ground ;  it  rained 
some  two  days. 

I  took  the  small-pox  in  Danville ;  I  was  then  taken  to  the 
hospital ;  I  wore  the  same  clothing  I  had  before  I  got  it ;  I 
wore  the  same  clothes  when  I  came  on  here ;  I  believe  I  had 
a  shirt  and  my  dress  coat  washed ;  I  washed  my  drawers 
myself. 

I  came  here  the  second  of  May. 

My  health  was  pretty  good  when  taken  prisoner ;  when  I 

*  Which  being  measured,  contains  31£  cubic  inches. 


134  APPENDIX. 

left  I  was  taken  out  of  the  hospital ;  I  guess  it  was  the 
small-pox,  erysipelas  and  diarrhoea  which  brought  me  down. 
When  I  was  in  prison,  before  I  was  taken  sick,  got  a  piece 
of  corn  bread  about  the  size  of  this  bible,  (the  same  referred 
to  by  the  other  witness ;)  got  meat  three  or  four  days  in  the 
week;  when  sick,  got  a  small  piece  of  wheat  bread — as 
much  as  I  could  eat  then — a  piece  of  beef  with  it,  about  two 
ounces ;  sometimes  a  little  beef  soup,  with  red  peas  in  it,  and 
rice ;  we  had  coffee  made  out  of  rye — sometimes,  once  a  day 
— most  every  day ;  I  took  the  small-pox  first ;  I  was  there 
about  a  week  before  I  took  it ;  felt  pretty  well  before ;  did 
not  get  enough  to  eat  before ;  hungry  all  the  time. 

WILLIAM  M.  SMITH. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Sergeant  ALFRED  P.  JONES,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am  twenty-seven  years  of  age;  am  from  Worcester, 
Massachusetts;  I  enlisted  September  14th,  1861,  in  Boston, 
in  the  1st  Massachusetts  cavalry;  was  taken  prisoner  in 
Virginia,  at  Aldie,  June  17th,  1863 ;  was  taken  to  Libby 
prison  June  24th,  1863. 

Was  in  prison  two  days  and  one  night ;  then*  ta^en  to 
Belle  Isle,  and  remained  there  some  thirty  days  when  I  was 
exchanged ;  I  was  protected  from  the  weather  by  a  tent — it 
was  full  of  holes ;  some  were  as  well  off  and  others  were 
not — some  laid  on  the  bare  ground — some  four  hundred ;  had 
no  blanket  or  overcoat  when  I  went  there. 

I  sold  my  India  rubber  cover  to  a  rebel  to  buy  bread  with. 

A  good  many  who  went  to  the  prison  when  I  did,  had 
their  blankets  taken  from  them ;  the  men  said  they  wanted 
the  clothes  for  their  own  soldiers  ;  I  used  to  see  the  rebel 
officers  dressed  in  our  uniforms. 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION   PRISONERS   BY   REBELS.       135 

Most  of  the  men  seemed  to  have  coughs,  and  were  very 
weak. 

The  prisoners  complained  of  a  want  of  food ;  it  was  a  gene 
ral  complaint ;  I  walked  the  streets  many  a  night ;  I  could 
not  sleep  from  hunger ;  all  complained. 

At  the  time  I  was  there  in  June  and  July,  1863,  the  food 
was  very  fair,  but  in  small  quantities ;  received  one-fourth 
of  a  loaf  in  the  morning  of  wheat  bread,  which  was  three 
inches  by  three  and  three -fourths,  by  one  and  three-fourths. 
We  had  this  twice  a  day ;  about  two  small  mouthfuls  of 
meat.  '  For  supper  we  had  a  half  pint  of  bean  soup ;  don't 
remember  finding  any  worms  in  it ;  there  would  be  sand 
or  gravel  in  it;  there  was  no  deficiency  in  water.  "We 
were  allowed  to  go  out  in  squads  to  bathe.  There  were 
squads  let  out  to  bathe  and  wash  their  clothes. 

I  had  nothing  to  sleep  on ;  it  was  warm  in  the  day  time, 
cool  at  night. 

I  heard  many  complain  of  cramp  and  pains.  I  lost 
flesh  and  strength,  and  so  did  the  others,  from  want  of 
food. 

ALFRED  P.  JONES, 

Sergeant  Co.  C.,  ist  Massachusetts  Cavalry. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR. 

United  States  Commissioner.- 


Private  WILLIAM  D.  FOOTE,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  was  born  in  Canada,  and  enlisted  in  Buffalo,  New  York, 
on  31st  October,  1862,  in  the  9th  New  York  Cavalry;  I  am 
twenty-eight  years  of  age ;  have  been  in  the  army  about 
a  year  and  eight  months. 

Was  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels  about  nine  months ;  was 
at  Belle  Isle,  and  in  the  hospital  at  Eichmond ;  was  well 
when  I  was  captured ;  I  was  taken  with  diarrhoea. 


136  APPENDIX. 

For  iirst  two  or  three  months  at  Belle  Isle  the 
quality  of  rations  were  very  good;  hardly  sufficient  to 
sustain  life  in  quantity.  It  was  wheat  bread,  almost  four 
inches  square,  not  exceeding  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  a 
small  portion  of  beef — call  it  two  mouthfuls.  "We  had 
this  quantity  of  bread  twice  a  day,  and  a  small  tin  cupful  of 
bean  soup,  which  had  black  bugs  in  it,  which  would  float 
on  the  top.  We  then  got  corn  bread,  about  half  the  size 
of  this  Bible,  (the  same  one  previously  referred  to,)  twice 
a  day. 

I  was  seven  weeks  I  had  no  shelter  at  all;  the  latter 
part  of  the  time  had  a  tent  full  of  holes. 

The  latter  part  of  October  received  blankets,  &c.,  from 
our  Government ;  my  blankets  and  clothes  had  been  taken 
from  me. 

I  lost  flesh.  Out  of  seven  hundred  that  came  to  Belle 
Isle  with  me,  I  think  there  were  about  two  hundred  got 
shelter ;  we  were  exposed  to  the  weather. 

There  was  no  name  for  our  hunger.  When  a  bone 
would  be  thrown  away  by  some,  it  would  be  taken  up 
often  by  others,  and  boiled  to  get  something  out  of  it. 

All  who  were  there  failed  in  strength  and'  flesh  as  I  did, 
from  starvation,  I  think. 

There  were  no  sheds  put  up  for  us. 

I  should  judge  it  was  the  corn  bread  which  caused  the 
diarrhoea.  It  appeared  to  disagree  with  me,  for  when  I 
had  wheat  bread,  I  kept  my  health  perfect.  The  corn 
bread  gave  me  pain  in  my  bowels;  often  got  whole  grains 
and  husks  in  the  bread,  I  am  positive,  as  I  am  on  my  oath ; 
the  proportion  would  be  small ;  after  that,  we  got  rye  and 
corn  mixed,  of  a  better  quality  of  bread. 

WILLIAM  D.  FOOTE. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JK. 

United  States  Commissioner. 


TEEATMENT  OF  UNION  PEISONEES  BY  REBELS.       137 

Private  EOBEKT  MOEEISON,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  was  enlisted  from  the  northwest  part  of  Ohio,  in  Pendle- 
ton,  Putnam  county,  Eiley  township,  in  the  21st  Ohio  Yol- 
unteers  ;  I  was  taken  prisoner  at  Chattanooga,  September 
20th,  1863  ;  I  was  removed  to  Kichmond ;  was  two  or  three 
days  on  our  way ;  I  was  stout  and  healthy  when  I  reached 
Eichmond ;  I  forget  the  name  of  the  prison  into  which  I 
was  put — I  remember,  it  w^as  Pemberton ;  I  remained  there 
about  a  month,  was  then  removed  to  Danville,  Virginia, 
remained  there  till  I  was  brought  here;  was  placed  in 
buildings  at  Danville. 

Our  blankets  were  taken  from  us ;  our  other  clothing  was 
left  to  us :  had  no  overcoat ;  had  no  watch  ;  we  saved  our 
money ;  I  put  it  in  the  sole  of  my  boot ;  they  searched  us 
for  it ;  we  had  a  stove — got  wood  once  in  awhile ;  it  was 
not  very  comfortable. 

My  health  was  first-rate  before  I  entered  the  service ;  I 
was  in  the  army  about  nineteen  months  before  I  was  cap 
tured  ;  had  no  bowel  complaint  or  any  other  sickness  while 
in  our  army ;  when  I  went  into  the  army  my  weight  was 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds. 

I  got  a  chunk  of  corn  bread  daily,  the  size  of  this  Bible* ; 
it  satisfied  me  and  more  too,  because  I  couldn't  eat  it; 
sometimes  it  was  but  about  half  baked ;  it  was  of  a  yellow 
color ;  it  was  of  a  musty  taste ;  had  a  very  small  ration  of 
meat  about  as  large  as  three  of  my  fingers  in  breadth,  and 
about  two  inches  in  thickness. 

I  was  about  two  months  in  prison  before  I  took  sick ; 
my  first  sickness  was  fever  and  ague ;  I  had  not  had  it  before 
for  some  years;  I  have  a  little  bowel  complaint  now,  it 
does  not  trouble  me  much ;  I  had  the  lung  fever  afterwards, 
I  got  some  eggs  then ;  when  I  got  so  as  to  be  up  and  around 
I  was  sent  back  to  the  prison ;  I  then  took  the  diarrhoea ; 
that  came  on  in  about  three  weeks  after  my  return  to 
the  prison;  it  reduced  me  down — was  sent  back  to  the 

*  The  same  before  referred  to. 


138  APPENDIX. 

hospital ;  got  wheat  bread  then,  an  egg,  small  piece  of 
meat,  potatoes,  salt  meat,  some  soup  not  very  good ;  there 
was  rice  in  the  soup ;  was  in  a  bed  when  I  had  the  lung 
fever ;  I  could  go  into  corn  bread  pretty  fast  at  first ;  the 
meat  was  pretty  good — fresh  meat ;  I  was  there  about  six 
months  ;  if  the  corn  bread  had  been  good  with  the  meat,  it 
would  have  been  plenty ;  had  not  been  in  the  habit  of  eat 
ing  corn  bread ;  it  was  kind  of  musty.  In  the  corn  bread 
there  were  some  grains  of  corn. 

A  hundred  and  fifty  men  in  the  room  where  I  was. 
In  a  warm  evening  the  room  was  very  close;  we  had 
brooms  to  sweep  the  room ;  the  privy  was  handy ;  the  room 
we  were  in  was  about  sixty  by  sixty  feet;  we  had  as  much 
food  as  we  wanted,  such  as  it  was. 

There  was  about  a  foot  between  each  man  as  we  lay ;  we 
had  a  small  yard  we  could  walk  around,  about  fifteen  or 
sixteen  feet  wide,  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long ;  I 
think  it  was  the  corn  bread  and  fresh  meat  that  gave  me 
the  bowel  complaint ;  I  was  not  used  to  the  corn  bread. 

I  am  twenty -three  years  of  age. 

EGBERT  MORRISON. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  31,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JK., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


TREATMENT  OF  UNION"  PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.       139 


Testimony  taken  at   United  States  Army   General 

Hospital,   Division  No.   2,   Annapolis, 

Maryland,   May  jist,  1864. 

ALL  THE  COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT. 


Private  GEORGE  DINGMAN,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am  fifty -four  years  of  age ;  I  am  from  Michigan ;  enlisted 
in  the  27th  Eegiment  in  1862 ;  I  had  always  good  health 
till  captured ;  was  taken  at  Strawberry  Plain ;  taken  to 
Kichmond,  thence  to  Belle  Island  about  the  26th  of  January , 
had  no  shelter  but  the  heavens ;  was  taken  by  some  one 
into  a  tent ;  had  the  rheumatism. 

No  shelter  was  provided  by  the  authorities ;  some  hun 
dreds  had  no  shelter,  some  had ;  no  fire ;  had  nothing  to 
sleep  on  but  them  blankets  I  brought ;  had  blankets  when 
taken  prisoner. 

(A  ration  produced) ;  this  was  the  rations  I  got ;  some 
times  we  got  this  twice  and  sometimes  three  times  a  day 
(the  ration  weighs  two  ounces  of  bread  and  three-sixteenths 
of  an  ounce  of  meat ;  both  are  now  perfectly  dry  which 
causes  a  loss  of  weight) ;  have  had  meat  more  than  once  a 
day. 

Was  at  Belle  Isle  two  weeks ;  think  the  prisoners  got  a 
little  more  bread  on  the  island  than  at  the  hospital ;  my 
ration  was  two  inches  in  length  by  two  and  a  half  inches 
wide,  and  about  one  inch  thick,  three  times  a  day,  or  twice 
a  day  sometimes ;  suffered  from  hunger ;  could  not  lay  in 
bed  from  rheumatism;  when  the  hungry  feeling  came  1 
got  so  weak  I  could  not  walk ;  once  and  a  while  had  a  little 
soup  or  beans  raw ;  no  man  could  eat  the  soup  unless  he 
was  starving ;  it  tasted  nasty  and  briny ;  I  could  walk  when 
I  came  here,  but  had  no  strength. 


140  APPENDIX. 

I  saw  the  rations  the  rebel  guards  got ;  they  were  four 
limes  as  much  as  ours :  they  got  the  same  kind  of  bread 
and  meat,  but  they  could  help  themselves  out  of  the  bag. 

There  were  complaints ;  the  doctor  was  very  kind,  and 
did  all  he  could. 

During  January  the  men  would  run  all  night  to  keep 
warm,  and  in  the  morning  I  would  see  men  lying  dead ; 
from  three  to  six  or  seven ;  they  were  frozen ;  this  was 
nearly  every  morning  I  was  there  ;  the  men  would  run  to 
keep  warm,  and  then  lie  down  and  freeze  to  death ;  we 
made  an  estimate  and  found  that  seventeen  men  died  a 
night  from  starvation  and  cold,  on  an  average. 

If  I  were  to  sit  here  a  week  I  couldn't  tell  you  half  our 
suffering. 

GEOKGE  DINGMAN. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Private  CHARLES  H.  ALLEN,  sworn  and  examined: — 

My  home  is  in  New  York ;  enlisted  in  the  16th  New  York 
Eegiment  last  fourth  of  July  ;  was  sickly  then ;  don't  know 
when  I  was  captured  ;  it  was  in  Virginia ;  was  taken  to 
Belle  Isle. 

They  took  my  clothes  away;  my  extra  clothing,  my 
overcoat  and  blanket;  it  was  at  the  end  of  the  winter; 
slept  on  the  ground  ;  remained  about  two  months  without 
shelter,  then  went  to  the  hospital. 

It  was  cold  ;  suffered  a  great  deal  with  cold ;  some  froze 
to  death ;  I  only  saw  dead  men  once. 

We  got  corn  bread  and  sometimes  soup ; .  corn  bread 
twice  a  day ;  meat  three  or  four  times  a  week ;  I  got  a 
quarter  of  a  loaf  of  corn  bread  for  each  ration  about  as  wide 
as  my  four  fingers,  and  about  four  fingers  thick. 

I  was  hungry,  pretty  nearly  starved  to  death  all  the  time. 


TREATMENT  OF  UNION  PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.       141 

Kations  not  as  good  at  the  hospital ;  not  so  large. 

Had  a  frozen  foot  and  diarrhoea  when  I  went  to  the 
hospital ;  think  it  was  the  beans  and  water  which  gave  me 
the  diarrhoea ;  I  relished  the  bread  at  first,  then  I  lost  my 
relish  for  it ;  was  in  Belle  Isle  about  three  months ;  from 
the  last  of  the  winter. 

Was  in  Belle  Isle  two  months  before  I  froze  my  feet ;  I 
heard  that  a  good  many  more  were  frozen  to  death ;  about 
sixty  I  suppose ;  I  did  not  go  round  the  tents,  and  there 
fore  did  not  see  them ;  I  have  lost  the  end  of  my  little  toe, 
(Witness  exhibits  his  frozen  toe  to  the  Commission.) 

his 

CHAS.  H.  M   ALLEN. 

mark. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Private  FRANK  EICHELBERGER,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am  from  Baltimore ;  enlisted  August,  1861,  in  the  8th 
Kansas,  Company  A ;  captured  at  Chattanooga ;  health 
good  up  to  that  time ;  taken  to  Eichmond  and  placed  in  a 
tobacco  warehouse ;  I  am  twenty-two  years  of  age  ;  got  to 
Eichmond  21st  of  October ;  went  into  prison  in  December, 
and  remained  till  March. 

They  took  our  blankets  and  coats  away  from  us ;  laid 
on  planks;  on  the  floor;  it  was  warm  when  we  were 
crowded. 

Got  corn  bread,  rice,  sweet  potatoes ;  meat  once  a  week  ; 
got  rice  and  sweet  potatoes  every  other  day ;  corn  bread 
three  inches  square,  one  and  a  half  inches  thick,  twice  a 
day :  teacupful  of  rice ;  sometimes  soup,  two-thirds  of  a 
pint ;  we  got  soup  about  as  often  as  we  got  meat. 

It  did  not  satisfy  hunger ;  my  appetite  was  never  satis 
fied  ;  my  health  declined  rapidly. 

I  got  a  heavy  cold ;  and  then  went  to  the  hospital,  when 


142  APPENDIX. 

I  had  the  pneumonia  ;  the  condition  of  the  other  men  was 
about  the  same  with  regard  to  their  food  and  accommoda 
tions  ;  they  complained  of  their  treatment  while  at  the  hos 
pital;  got  dried  apples  and  coffee  sent  to  us  from  the 
North. 

I  had  no  pain  when  I  suffered  from  hunger ;  could  not 
sleep  on  account  of  hunger;  did  not  suffer  from  cold  a 
great  deal ;  the  loaf  shown  to  me  is  just  like  what  we  got ; 
about  one-third  of  it  (loaf  weighs  fifteen  ounces,  and  meas 
ured  about  thirty-one  and  a  half  cubic  inches,)  twice  a 
day. 

The  rebel  guards  got  the  same  kind  of  bread ;  a  great 
deal  more :  enough  to  satisfy  any  man's  hunger ;  sometimes 
their  bread  was  better  than  this ;  the  bread  was  made  of 
corn  meal  not  sifted ;  no  grains  or  cob  in  it  that  I  saw ;  I 
believe  some  of  our  men  did  complain  ;  haven't  heard  any 
reason  why  we  were  not  better  fed. 

FRANK  EICHELBERGER. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BKOWN,  JK., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Private  DANIEL  McMANN,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am  from  New  York  ;  enlisted  in  the  43d  New  York  ; 
captured  at  Gettysburg ;  was  sickly  when  captured ;  taken 
to  Richmond  ;  placed  in  Belle  Isle. 

Took  my  coat  and  blanket  away ;  gave  us  no  covering ; 
some  laid  out  on  a  bank ;  reached  Belle  Isle  in  July ;  a 
number  of  men  had  to  lie  out  on  the  bare  ground — two 
hundred  ;  I  was  there  till  after  Christmas. 

I  suffered  from  cold  very  much,  and  so  did  the  men 
more  than  I ;  we  had  cold  rain  storms ;  some  men  froze  to 
death  in  a  ditch. 

It  was  not  much  better  in  the  tents ;  I  saw  men  carried 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION  PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.       143 

out  of  the  tents  in  blankets,  dead ;  saw  this  more  than 
once ;  I  suppose  they  died  mostly  from  hunger  and  cold. 

We  got  about  one-third  the  loaf  shown,  of  corn  bread  (loaf 
weighed,  and  weighs  fifteen  ounces)  twice  a  day ;  sometimes 
but  once ;  meat  once  regularly ;  a  small  piece  about  as  big 
as  my  four  fingers  together. 

Went  into  the  hospital  after  Christmas,  and  remained 
till  last  of  March ;  rations  worse  in  hospital ;  as  much 
bread,  meat  and  soup  given  to  us  the  same  day  at  the  hos 
pital  ;  they  were  bad  and  we  could  not  eat  them ;  a  hungry 
man  could  not  eat  the  meat  and  soup ;  there  is  but  one  man 
here  who  was  in  the  ward  with  me  at  the  hospital. 

Suffered  from  hunger  at  Belle  Isle;  heard  others  com 
plain  ;  had  the  measles  and  a  touch  of  the  diarrhoea ;  my 
strength  did  not  keep  up  till  I  got  the  diarrhoea ;  when  I 
would  go  down  to  the  river  to  get  a  drink,  I  could  hardly 
stand  or  get  back ;  river  about  fifty  yards  off. 

My  guards  were  not  hungry,  for  they  would  sometimes 
throw  bread  in  to  the  prisoners ;  have  picked  it  up  myself ; 
it  was  better  bread  than  ours ;  not  so  coarse. 

I  saw  a  man  kill  a  dog  and  eat  part  of  it,  and  he  sold  the 
rest  of  it ;  I  got  some. 

his 

DANIEL  M  McMANN. 

mark. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Private  WALTER  S.  SMITH,  sworn  and  examined: — 

Am  from  New  York ;  enlisted  August  27th,  1861,  in  the 
48th  New  York;  captured  at  Morris  Island,  July  18th; 
taken  to  Columbia,  S.  C. ;  never  had  any  blanket ;  rations 
were  corn  bread — enough — small  piece  of  meat  and  rice ; 
done  very  well  there;  from  there  taken  to  Kichmond — 
Libby  Prison.' 


APPENDIX. 

Was  put  on  Belle  Isle  in  two  days  after;  tents  torn, 
holes  in  them ;  about  half  of  our  men  slept  outside — fifty ; 
it  rained  through  the  tents. 

Some  laid  out  in  the  snow  and  frost;  I  laid  on  the 
ground;  the  men  that  laid  out,  some  had  blankets  and 
some  had  none ;  some  froze  to  death ;  many  had  their  feet 
frozen ;  all  that  slept  out  suffered  from  cold ;  some  in  tents 
suffered  from  cold. 

I  saw  men  that  had  frozen  to  death  in  the  night ;  I  saw 
this  seven  or  eight  times. 

"We*  had  wheat  bread  when  we  first  went  there ;  about 
eight  inches  by  four  and  a-half,  by  an  inch  and  a  half  or 
more  thick ;  meat  ration  four  or  five  times  a  week,  as  big 
as  my  three  fingers,  each  time,  for  three  or  four  months ; 
after  that  got  none,  except  once  in  a  while ;  I  had  a  chronic 
diarrhoea;  kept  my  strength  pretty  well  till  then;  lost 
flesh  before. 

The  corn  bread  was  very  poor — ground  with  cob;  on 
the  days  they  gave  us  meat,  they  gave  us  less  bread ;  when 
we  had  meat,  the  bread  ration  was  about  one-half  the  size 
of  the  loaf  produced  here,  (same  as  before  referred  to, 
weighing  fifteen  ounceif) ;  we  got  half  of  this  loaf  (for  the 
whole  day)  when  we  got  meat ;  two-thirds  when  we  had  no 
meat ;  we  never  got  as  much  as  the  whole  loaf;  when  we 
came  away,  they  gave  us  rations  to  last  through  the  day — 
one  loaf;  we  got  soup  four  or  five  times  a  week  at  first; 
soup  and  meat  same  day ;  latter  part  of  time,  scarce  any 
soup. 

The  guards  fared  better;  they  got  meat  when  we  did 
not ;  they  got  a  third  more  bread ;  our  rations  not  sufficient 
to  keep  down  hunger ;  suffered  the  last  three  months ;  had 
the  diarrhoea  twice ;  got  it  the  last  time,  three  or  four  days 
before  I  came  away;  the  men  suffered  very  much  who 
had  been  on  the  island  for  some  time ;  felt  no  pain  when 
hungry;  never  kept  from  sleeping  from  hunger;  left  Belle 
Isle,  17th  of  March;  think  thirty  or  forty  died  while  I 
was  there. 


TEEATMEKT  OF  UNION   PRISONERS   BY   REBELS.       145 

I  have  heard  the  men  running  round  the  tents  to  keep 
warm  at  all  hours  of  the  night ;  the  river  was  frozen  a  little 
while  I  was  there ;  the  current  is  rapid. 

The  water  would  freeze  two  or  three  inches  in  the  bucket 
at  night ;  the  main  street  of  the  camp  would  be  very  much 
tilled  with  men  lying  there. 

From  the  general  talk  from  the  men  in  the  camp,  I  think 
that  the  statement,  that  seventeen  men  would  die  on  an 
average  a  night,  is  likely  to  be  correct. 

WALTER  S.  SMITH. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Testimony   taken   at  United   States   Army   General 

Hospital,   Division   No.   i,   Annapolis, 

Maryland,  June  ist,    1864. 

ALL  THE  COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT. 


Private  WM.  W.  WILCOX,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  sworn  and 
examined: — 

I  enlisted  August,  1862,  in  the  124th  Ohio  Volunteers. 

Taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Ga.,  Sep 
tember,  1863;  taken  to  Tunnel  Hill,  Ga.;  was  in  good 
health  at  the  time  of  capture;  thence  to  Richmond,  Va.; 
placed  on  Belle  Isle. 

They  took  everything  except  the  natural  clothing,  even 
to  knife,  on  body ;  no  blankets  given  us ;  I  hid  my  money 
and  they  did  not  get  that. 


146  APPENDIX, 

No  shelter  provided;  slept  on  bare  ground  ;  no  covering 
in  the  least ;  was  put  on  the  Isle  the  last  day  of  September, 
or  first  of  October;  staid  there  eleven  days;  men  came 
when  I  did ;  had  no  shelter ;  were  turned  into  an  enclosure 
in  which  there  was  no  shelter;  I  suppose  there  were  two 
thousand  without  shelter. 

Removed  to  the  city  of  Richmond  ;  we  were  all  removed 
there  ;  placed  in  Smith's  tobacco  factory ;  no  covering  nor 
bed  until  the  blankets  were  sent  to  us  by  the  United  States ; 
received  the  blankets  about  the  1st  of  December. 

Removed  to  Danville,  and  placed  in  tobacco  warehouse ; 
windows  broken  out;  miserable  cold  place;  we  took  the 
blankets  with  us  from  Richmond ;  so  cold,  we  suffered ; 
no  means  to  keep  warm,  except  by  walking  around ;  the 
cold  prevented  sleeping  to  a  great  extent ;  a  man  could  not 
sleep  alone  comfortable  with  one  blanket. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  stealing  of  blankets  by  the 
guards  ;  the  men  traded  their  blankets  for  rice  ;  the  guards 
would  bring  rice  to  the  window,  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
pounds,  and  offer  to  exchange  for  our  blankets ;  they 
would  come  to  the  windows  and  say,  "  stick  your  blanket 
out  so  I  can  get  hold  of  the  end  of  it;"  then  two  or  more  of 
the  guards  would  jerk  the  blanket  away  and  not  give  the 
rice ;  this  was  not  a  general  thing,  though  it  was  often 
done  ;  the  motive  of  the  men  for  doing  this,  was,  they  were 
so  near  starved  out  that  they  were  ready  to  take  anything ; 
the  guard  would  pass  in  bags  of  sand  in  place  of  rice  and 
take  blankets. 

"When  we  first  came  there,  our  bread  was  made  from 
middlings,  shorts  and  bran,  such  as  we  feed  our  cattle ;  it 
was  a  combination  of  most  everything,  corn-hulls,  bran, 
and  refuse  flour ;  got  about  half  pound ;  the  bulk  was  only 
one-quarter  larger  than  the  loaf  shown,  but  was  lighter 
than  this ;  I  should  say  from  two  to  three  ounces  lighter. 

Our  beef,  when  we  first  went  there,  would  range  from 
four  to  six  ounces  a  day. 

Our  soup  was  made  from  sweet  potatoes;  about  half  pint 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION  PRISONERS   BY   REBELS.      147 

in  quantity,  and  the  liquor  the  beef  was  boiled  in ;  some 
days  we  would  not  get  any  soup ;  the  soup  was  hardly 
palatable. 

There  was  a  difference  in  our  rations;  we  drew  this 
black  bread  for  about  a  week,  then  drew  corn  bread ;  the 
corn  bread  was  about  the  size  for  a  ration  as  the  loaf 
shown  here ;  I  should  judge  our  rations  were  heavier  than 
that  loaf,  about  two  to  three  ounces,  (loaf  weighs  now 
twelve  ounces  and  a  fraction). 

In  every  ration  there  was  cobs,  whole  corn,  as  hard  as  on 
the  cobs,  sometimes  husks  as  long  as  my  finger ;  the  loaf 
was  sweet  when  we  first  got  it;  not  sufficient  to  satisfy 
hunger. 

The  way  it  affected  me  was  to  make  me  so  weak  I  would 
become  blind ;  if  I'd  get  up  to  move  as  far  as  across  this 
room,  I  would  become  blind  and  everything  would  get 
dark,  and  I  would  fall  from  weakness ;  my  strength  kept 
declining  all  the  time  before  I  got  the  diarrhoea ;  did  not 
have  much  diarrhoea  until  the  first  of  March. 

I  was  removed  to  the  hospital  about  the  middle  of 
December,  from  Danville ;  I  had  no  disease  I  know  of  but 
weakness,  swelling  of  the  legs,  with  purple  and  inflamed 
and  yellow  spots ;  the  skin  cracked  and  water  ran  out  of 
my  legs ;  rations  better  at  the  hospital,  when  I  first  went 
there,  than  they  were  in  prison ;  we  were  allowed  no  privi 
lege  at  all  in  prison. 

After  we  tunneled  out,  we  were  only  allowed  to  go  to 
the  privy  six  at  a  time  ;  the  floor  was  in  one  mess — filthy  ; 
an  ordinary  one-horse  wagon-load  of  human  excrement  on 
the  floor  every  morning. 

Not  allowed  to  look  out  the  window ;  was  shot  at  twice 
for  looking  out;  a  man  was  shot  alongside  of  me,  while 
standing  at  the  window;  he  was  standing  two  feet  from  the 
window,  with  his  hand  on  the  casement;  the  sentry  could 
not  see  him  from  the  sentry's  beat ;  I  presume  the  sentry 
saw  bis  shadow;  he  stepped  out  of  his  position  to  shoot  at 
him,  perhaps  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet ;  the  sentry  shot 


14:8  APPE:NTDIX. 

liim  in  the  head  and  killed  him  instantly;  I  suppcise  1  h^ro 
seen  five  hundred  men  shot  at ;  our  order*  were  not  to  put 
our  heads  out  the  windows ;  this  man  had  not  put  his  head 
out  at  that  time;  he  had  rolled  up  his  blanket  and  was 
standing  over  the  place  where  he  slept  on  the  floor;  his 
name  was  Alexander  Opes,  of  the  101st  Indiana. 

With  one  exception,  we  were  treated  very  well  by  the 
physicians ;  never  heard  any  fault  found  of  any  physician 
but  Dr.  Moses,  of  Charlestown  ;  don't  know  his  first  name  ; 
when  once  we  had  mouldy  bread  given  to  us  in  the  hospi 
tal,  Dr.  Fontleroy  made  a  fuss  about  it  and  had  it  changed. 

WM.  W.  WILCOX. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 

Private  WILLIAM  D.  FOOTE,  recalled: — 

The  first  case  of  death  I  remember,  was  a  Massachusetts 
man,  who  died  from  frozen  feet ;  from  the  looks  of  them 
you  could  hardly  tell  they  were  feet ;  he  laid  in  the  next 
bed  to  me ;  they  first  took  off  the  toes  of  one  of  the  feet, 
and  then  took  off  the  foot ;  in  a  few  days  he  died  from 
amputation ;  he  was  in  the  same  ward ;  brought  in  the 
middle  of  November.  Saw  nor  man  frozen  to  death  on 
Belle  Isle ;  saw  any  number  of  men  brought  in  with  frozen 
feet,  who  afterwards  suffered  amputation;  ten  or  twelve 
persons  were  so  brought  in ;  two  or  three  of  the  amputated 
cases  died.  I  speak  of  what  occurred  in  my  ward. 

WILLIAM  D.  FOOTE. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 

Private  HIRAM  J.  NEAL,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am.  from  Maine ;  enlisted  in  the  4th  Maine  Eegiment ; 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION"   PRISONERS   BY   REBELS.       1-1 

taken  prisoner  at  Bristow  Station,  in  October,  1863 ;  taken 
to  the  Pemberton  prison,  from  there  to  Belle  Island,  which 
I  reached  24th  February ;  remained  until  January  18th , 
blankets  taken  from  me ;  nothing  given  in  their  place ; 
after  eight  days,  we  had  tents  at  Belle  Island. 

At  first  the  men  had  to  lay  out  till  they  could  find 
tents ;  had  nothing  to  sleep  upon. 

About  one-fifth  of  the  men  were  permitted  by  the  rebels 
to  retain  their  blankets ;  had  no  straw  or  board  to  lie  on ; 
tents  old  and  rotten — full  of  holes;  those  in  the  tents 
managed  to  keep  warm,  though  they  couldn't  sleep ;  those 
out  of  the  tents,  from  three  to  six  hundred,  tried  to  run 
about  to  keep  warm. 

Saw  many  with  frozen  feet  carried  off;  in  one  morning 
saw  eleven  corpses,  three  frozen  stiff.  Near  first  of  Janu 
ary,  deaths  occurred  eight  or  ten  in  twenty-four  hours, 
principally  in  the  night ;  I  deem  the  causes  of  those  deaths 
to  have  been  exposure  and  starvation. 

When  I  left,  January  18th,  there  were  about  five  thou 
sand  men  there ;  I  was  transferred  to  the  hospital  for  diar 
rhoea  and  disability. 

Eations  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  hunger ;  waked  up  one 
night  and  found  myself  knawing  my  coat  sleeve ;  used  to 
dream  of  having  something  good  to  eat. 

I  had  a  pain  in  my  chest  and  bowels ;  had  the  diarrhoea 
when  I  was  captured ;  had  a  pain  in  my  bowels  then  ;  had 
about  four  movements  of  the  bowels  a  day  before  cap 
tured  ;  not  able  to  do  duty  all  the  time ;  I  had  been  thirty- 
six  hours  on  the  march  with  one  night's  rest  just  before  I 
was  captured ;  was  in  the  fight  about  an  hour. 

HIEAM  J.  NEAL. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 

Private  CHARLES  F.  PFOUNSTIEL,  sworn  and  examined: — 
I  am  a  German;  enlisted  in  2d  Maryland,  September 


1  50  APPENDIX. 

24,  1862 ;  captured  in  Tennessee ;  imprisoned  in  Belle  Is 
land  ;  reached  there  January  21st;  remained  till  6th  of 
March. 

They  took  my  blankets,  sixty  dollars  in  money,  and  a 
watch  worth  thirty  dollars. 

For  two  days  had  no  shelter ;  then  I  got  in  the  tents  ;  air 
came  in  on  every  side  ;  many  men  without  tents ;  two  hun 
dred  men  went  in  with  me ;  the  greater  part  had  no  tents ; 
some  had  a  blanket  or  old  coat. 

Some  froze  to  death  ;  could  not  keep  warm ;  one  out  of 
my  regiment  froze  to  death  ;  he  reported  to  the  doctor  that 
he  was  sick  but  he  paid  him  no  attention,  perhaps  because 
the  man  could  not  speak  English. 

Every  morning  we  carried  out  some  men  froze  to  death, 
and  from  starvation  some  four  or  five  men. 

We  did  not  get  enough  to  eat ;  ten  or  twelve  ounces  of 
corn  bread  and  two  spoons  of  beans  almost  rotten ;  some 
times  we  had  soup — not  fit  to  eat,  yet  had  to  eat  it ;  had 
meat  only  three  or  four  times  while  I  was  there ;  two  or 
three  ounces  each  time ;  I  was  hungry  all  the  time. 

I  could  not  sleep  for  hunger  and  cold,  dirt  and  lice  ;  I 
washed  twice  a  day  in  the  James  river ;  strength  kept  up 
till  last  eight  days  ;  then  I  felt  sick  in  my  bowels ;  had  no 
diarrhoea ;  did  not  go  to  the  hospital ;  left  with  the  9th 
Maryland. 

I  saw  a  good  many  cases  carried  in  a  blanket  to  the  doc 
tor,  and  when  they  got  there  many  of  them  were  dead ;  had 
my  feet  frozen. 

There  might  be  many  deaths  I  did  not  see  ;  I  have  rea 
son  to  believe  there  was.  I  have  stated  what  I  saw — three 
or  four  a  night. 

The  men  would  dig  holes  in  the  ground  to  lie  in  at  night 
to  protect  them  from  the  air. 

CHAS.  F.  PFOUJSTSTIEL. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


TREATMENT  OF   UNION   PRISONERS   BY   REBELS.       151 


TESTIMONY  OF  COMMISSIONED   AND 
MEDICAL  OFFICERS. 


Captain  A.  R.  CALHOUN,  sworn  and  examined : — 

I  am  from  Kentucky ;  was  not  mustered  in  at  the  time 
of  capture ;  was  captured  at  North  Eastern  Georgia  ;  was 
taken  to  Libby  Prison ;  captured  in  October,  1863,  and 
reached  Libby  in  November. 

We  were  taken  from  Atlanta  in  open  box  cars,  without 
shelter ;  we  lay  on  the  floor,  wounded  men  and  all ;  men 
with  the  diarrhoea  had  no  accommodations,  and  had  to  per 
form  the  operations  of  nature  in  the  cars ;  all  packed  close 
ly  ;  there  were  about  fifty  wounded ;  some  amputations. 

Just  before  we  left  Atlanta,  one  of  our  men  with  diarrhoea 
went  to  the-  back  house,  which  was  beyond  the  line  our 
prisoners  were  allowed  to  go  ;  there  was  a  bunch  of  dried 
leaves  at  the  corner  of  the  back  house;  they  could  not 
have  been  a  foot  beyond  the  line,  and  when  the  man  went 
to  pick  them  up,  the  guard  fired  and  killed  him. 

On  entering  Libby  it  was  thirty-six  hours  before  we  had 
any  rations  given  us,  and  would  have  suffered,  if  the  offi 
cers  already  there  had  not  shared  with  us;  I  mean  our 
officers. 

We  were  packed  in  a  room  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
feet  long  by  forty-five  feet  wide,  and  already  occupied  by 
nearly  three  hundred  men. 

We  had  no  clothing  or  bedding  given  to  us;  there  were 
eleven  men  of  us  ;  what  we  had  was  taken  from  us  by  our 
captors ;  it  was  very  cold*;  the  windows  were  broken  at 
each  end  of  the  room ;  our  comrades  also  shared  theii 
blankets  and  continued  to  do  so  until  we  were  supplied  by 
blankets  from  the  Sanitary  Committee ;  even  then  they 
would  not  average  over  a  blanket  to  a  man,  in  my  room. 


152  APPENDIX. 

It  was  so  filth}7"  that  our  clothing  and  blankets  soo a  be 
came  covered  with  vermin ;  the  floors  of  the  prison  were 
washed  late  in  the  afternoon  nearly  every  day,  so  that 
when  we  came  to  lie  down  it  was  very  damp ;  we  had 
nothing  but  our  clothing  and  blanket  to  lie  on  ;  the  result 
was  that  nearly  every  man  had  a  cough. 

We  were  wormed  and  dove-tailed  together  like  fish  in  a 
basket ;  in  this  room  was  the  sink  and  privy ;  we  did  our 
washing  and  dried  our  clothes  in  the  same  room  ;  two  stoves 
in  the  room,  one  at  each  end,  and  two  or  three  armful s 
of  wood  for  each  per  day. 

We  were  not  allowed  to  go  within  three  feet  of  the  win 
dows  to  look  out ;  but  men  could  not  help  this,  and  wero 
repeatedly  fired  upon ;  in  this  firing  they  wounded  four 
officers ;  there  was  hardly  a  day  passed  without  firing  ;  any 
one  who  hung  clothes  near  or  on  the  windows,  had  the 
clothes  confiscated  and  were  put  in  the  cells. 

Twice  each  day  the  men  were  crowded  into  two  rooms 
for  roll  call;  in  this  room  were  the  sick  and  weak  who 
could  hardly  stand ;  the  crowd  was  immense ;  our  men 
were  counted  out  one  by  one ;  the  officers — there  were  one 
thousand  officers ;  any  one  not  attending  this  roll  call  was 
compelled  to  stand  in  ranks  four  hours  on  the  floor. 

When  I  first  entered  Libby  in  November,  we  received  a 
small  loaf  of  corn  bread,  about  two  ounces  of  poor  beef 
and  a  little  boiled  rice  each  day ;  the  loaf  was  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  longer,  thicker  and  heavier  than  this."* 
The  crust  was  very  thick ;  we  used  to  call  it  iron-clad, 
and  grate  it  and  make  mush  out  of  it,  as  the  most  palat 
able  way ;  we  could  not  grate  the  crusts. 

After  November  we  received  about  two  ounces  of  beef 
once  in  four  weeks  on  an  average ;  from  the  25th  of  March 
till  the  6th  of  May  not  a  bit  of  meat  was  issued  in  officers' 
quarters. 

*  The  same  loaf  before  referred  to. 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION   PRISONERS  BY   REBELS.      153 

For  the  three  months  of  February,  March,  and  April, 
there  was  a  pint  of  black  peas  issued  to  each  man  every 
week,  and  a  little  vinegar ;  these  peas  were  full  of  bugs, 
nearly  every  ration ;  they  call  them  bugs,  but  they  were 
little  white  maggots  in  a  chrysalis  state ;  we  pounded  the 
peas  so  as  to  mash  them,  and  let  the  bugs  flow  to  the  sur 
face  ;  there  was  about  an  ounce  of  soap  and  a  little  salt 
given  each  man. 

This  was  inadequate  to  satisfy  hunger,  and  for  two 
months  I  have  had  a  burning  sensation,  when  in  prison,  in 
my  intestines.  I  used  to  dream  of  food,  and  foolishly 
would  blame  myself  for  not  having  eaten  more  when  at 
home  ;  the  subject  of  food  engrossed  my  entire  thoughts ; 
not  all  suffered  as  I  did ;  the  majority  did  ;  some  were 
fortunate  enough  to  receive  boxes  from  home. 

We  were  allowed  to  write  letters  once  each  week,  not  to 
exceed  six  lines. 

Boxes  sent  us  from  the  North  were  stored  in  a  warehouse 
near  the  prison  ;  we  could  see  them  in  the  windows  ;  the 
contents  of  the  boxes  were  being  stolen  or  ruined  by  keep 
ing,  and  when  issued  I  think  would  have  been  eaten  by 
none  but  starving  men  ;  every  package  and  can  was  broken 
open,  and  the  contents  were  poured  promiscuously  into  a 
blanket,  so  that  everything  ran  in  together ;  they  stole  a 
great  many  of  our  boxes  ;  one  of  the  guards  told  me  that 
they  saw  our  men  escaping  through  the  tunnel,  and  that 
they  did  not  prevent  them,  supposing  it  was  their  own  men 
stealing  our  boxes ;  the  Sanitary  supply  sent  us,  we  re 
ceived  but  little  of;  we  were  allowed  to  send  out  and  buy 
at  extravagant  prices ;  they  sold  us  the  Sanitary  hams, 
butter,  and  stationary.  Marks  of  the  Sanitary  Commission 
were  on  the  cases  and  on  the  paper. 

For  trivial  offences,  officers  were  sent  to  the  cells ;  there 
had  been  about  eighty-five  men  in ;  many  of  those  men 
were  innocent  that  were  placed  there  as  hostages;  they 
said  the  cells  were  damp,  walls  green,  no  stoves ;  they  were 
about  twelve  feet  bv  twenty ; -at  one  time  there  were  six- 


154:  APPENDIX. 

teen  men  in  those  cells ;  some  had  to  stand  all  night ;  I 
believe  this  fully.  I  was  in  the  hospital  with  pneumonia. 

Just  before  I  left,  Capt.  Stevens  received  a  small  box 
from  home,  sat  down  and  ate  to  excess,  as  any  man  would 
under  the  circumstances,  and  died  a  few  hours  afterwards. 

The  surgeon  was  very  kind  to  us.  The  hospital  food 
was  just  like  the  quarter  food,  with  the  exception  of  a 
little  rye  coffee  and  sugar ;  not  quite  so  much  bread. 

I  had  a  burning  sensation  on  the  inside,  with  a  general 
failing  in  strength.  A  man  had  a  piece  of  ham  which  I 
looked  at  for  hours. 

When  I  came  away  on  the  16th  of  Hay,  and  saw  the 
pale  faces  of  the  men  through  the  bars,  I  cried.  They 
begged  me  for  God's  sake  to  appeal  to  the  Government  and 
write  to  the  papers — to  do  anything  in  the  world  to  get 
them  relieved.  I  am  confident  that  if  they  remain  long  in 
that  situation,  they  will  never  be  fit  for  anything.  .  The 
men  never  blame  our  Government  for  their*  suffering. 

I  know  the  Eebels  have  plenty,  for  we  went  down  into 
the  cellar,  and  brought  up  corn  meal,  flour,  potatoes  and 
turnips,  which  we  divided  with  our  fellows ;  the  flour  was 
excellent ;  I  ate  about  a  quart  of  it.  I  am  a  communicant 
in  the  church,  and  was  studying  for  the  ministry  when  tlie 
war  broke  out.  I  am  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church. 

A.  E.  CALHOUN. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


I  certify  that  the  foregoing  testimony  was  taken  and  ro- 
duced  to  writing  in  the  presence  of  the  respective  wit 
nesses,  and  by  them  sworn  to  in  my  presence,  at  the  times, 
places,  and  in  the  manner  set  forth. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION   PRISONERS   BY  REBELS.      155 


Testimony  by  Letter  of  Lieutenant-Colonel   Earns- 
worth,  ist  Connecticut  Cavalry. 


NORWICH,  June  29/A,  1864. 

GENTLEMEN  : — In  reply  to  a  letter  from  one  of  your 
Committee,  I  have  the  honor  to  make  the  following  state 
ment  of  what  I  saw,  heard  and  felt  of  the  treatment  of 
prisoners  of  war  by  the  Confederate  authorities  at  Eich- 
mond,  Virginia : 

I  entered  service  October,  1861 ;  was  captured  on  the  14th 
of  July,  1863,  in  a  cavalry  skirmish  near  Halltown,  Ya. ; 
was  conveyed  to  Richmond,  and  confined  in  Libby  Prison ; 
was  paroled  and  sent  North  on  the  14th  of  March,  1864. 

My  treatment  by  my  immediate  captors  was  gentlemanly 
in  the  extreme;  even  going  so  far  as  to  assist  me  in  con- 
coaling  money,  so  as  to  prevent  the  Eichmond  authorities 
from  robbing  me. 

Upon  reaching  the  Libby,  we  were  rigidly  searched, 
and  all  moneys  and  attractive  jack-knives,  nice  overcoats 
and  meerschaum  pipes  were  kindly  appropriated  by  the 
prison  authorities ;  rubber  blankets,  canteens,  spurs  and 
haversacks  were  taken  from  us.  Lieut.  Moran,  for  com 
plaining  of  this  treatment,  was  knocked  down  by  Eichard 
Turner,  inspector  of  the  prison  clothing. 

There  was  never  an  issue  of  clothing  or  blankets  made 
by  the  Confederate  authorities  during  the  time  I  was  there 
confined.  We  did  receive  one  hundred  (100)  each  of  tin 
plates,  cups,  knives,  forks,  (mostly  damaged  by  bayonet- 
thrusts,  they  having  been  picked  up  from  battle-fields,)  for 
the  use  of  one  thousand  (1000)  officers. 

ACCOMMODATIONS — In  six  (6)  rooms,  one  hundred  by 
forty,  there  were  confined  as  many  as  twelve  hundred  (1200/ 


15G  APPENDIX. 

officers  of  all  ranks,  from  Brigadier-General  to  Second 
Lieutenant.  This  space  was  all  that  was  allowed  us  in 
which  to  cook,  eat,  wash,  sleep  and  exercise.  You  can  see 
that  soldierly  muscle  must  fast  deteriorate  when  confined 
to  twenty  (20)  superficial  feet  of  plank ;  we  were  not 
allowed  benches,  chairs  or  stools,  nor  even  to  fold  our 
blankets  and  sit  upon  them ;  but  were  forced  to  sit  like  so 
many  slaves  upon  the  middle  passage. 

This  continued  until  the  appointment  of  General  Butler, 
Commissioner  of  Exchange,  after  which  time  we  were 
allowed  chairs  and.  stools,  which  we  made  from  the  boxes 
and  barrels  sent  us  from  the  North. 

There  was  plenty  of  water  allowed  us,  and  a  tank  for 
bathing  in  four  (4)  of  the  rooms. 

There  were  seventy-six  (76)  windows  in  the  six  (6)  rooms, 
from  which  in  winter  there  was  no  protection. 

SUBSISTENCE. — Our  rations  consisted  of  one-quarter  (J) 
of  a  pound  of  beef,  nine  (9)  ounces  of  bread  of  variable 
quality,  generally  of  wheat  flour,  though  sometimes  of 
wheat  flour  and  corn  meal,  a  gill  of  rice,  and  a  modicum 
of  salt  and  vinegar  per  day.  This  continued  until  the  llth 
of  November,  which  was  the  first  day  that  meat  was  not 
issued,  and  bread  made  entirely  of  corn  meal  was  substi 
tuted  for  wheat  bread  ;  this  meal  was  composed  of  cob  and 
grain  ground  together,  and  when  mixed  with,  cold  water, 
without  salt  or  any  raising,  made  the  bread.  Meat  was 
next  issued  on  the  14th,  and  the  issue  suspended  on  the 
21st.  On  the  26th  we  received  salt  pork,  sent  to  the  pris 
oners  by  the  United  States  Government ;  from  this  time 
out,  meat  was  like  angels'  visits ;  sometimes  it  was  issued 
at  intervals  of  ten  days,  and  sometimes  not  in  thirty  (30) ; 
the  longest  interval  was  thirty-four  (34)  days. 

The  amount  of  rations  first  issued  will  undoubtedly 
sustain  life ;  but  their  long  continuance  without  exercise 
will  produce  disease  of  a  scorbutic  nature. 

The  rations  issued  after  the  llth  of  November  will  not 


TREATMENT   cff   UXIOX  PRISONERS   BY    REBELS.      157 

sustain  life,  and  without  the  aid  sent  to  us  from  the  North 
the  mortality  would  have  been  great.  Nine  ounces  of  such 
corn  bread  and  a  cup  of  water  per  day,  are  poorer  rations 
than  those  issued  to  the  vilest  criminal  in  the  meanest 
States  Prison  in  the  Union;  yet  this  was  considered  fit 
treatment  by  the  hospitable  chivalry  of  the  South  to  be  ex 
tended  to  men  taken  in  honorable  warfare,  any  one  of  them 
the  peer  of  the  arch-traitor,  Jeff.  Davis. 

BOXES. — We  began  to  receive  boxes  in  October.  These 
came  in  good  order,  were  inspected  in  our  presence,  and 
delivered  to  us  entire ;  they  came  regularly,  and  were 
delivered  in  good  order  up  to  about  the  1st  of  January ; 
after  this  time  boxes  were  sent  regularly  from  the  North, 
and  were  received  by  Col.  Ould,  Commissioner  of  Exchange, 
but  they  were  not  issued  to  us;  they  were  stored  in  a 
building  within  sight  of  the  prison,  and  at  the  time  of  my 
leaving,  three  thousand  (3,000)  had  been  received  there 
and  not  delivered  to  us ;  what  was  the  cause  of  this  non 
delivery  of  boxes  we  were  never  informed.  They  keep  up 
a  semblance  of  delivery,  however,  by  the  issue  of  five  (5) 
or  six  (6)  a  week,  they  receiving  from  the  North  about 
three  hundred  (300)  a  week. 

The  contents  of  these  boxes  were,  undoubtedly,  appro 
priated  to  the  private  use  of  the  officials  in  and  about 
Eichmond.  Here  is  simply  one  instance  :  Lieut.  Maginnis, 
of  the  18th  Reg.,  Conn.,  since  killed  in  battle,  recognized 
a  suit  of  citizen's  clothes  which  had  been  sent  to  him  from 
the  North,  on  the  person  of  one  of  the  prison  officials,  and 
accused  him  of  the  theft,  and  showed  his  name  on  the 
watch-pocket  of  the  pants.  Such  cases  were  numerous. 

BELLE  ISLE. — Upon  the  26th  day  of  January,  1861,  I 
visited  Belle  Island,  as  an  assistant  in  the  distribution  of 
clothing  sent  by  the  Government  and  by  the  Sanitary 
Commissions  of  the  North ;  this  was  my  first  time  outside 
of  the  prison  walls  in  six  months.  The  island  is  situated 
j'lft  opposite  the  Tredegar  Iron  Works,  in  the  James  river. 


153  APPENDIX. 

The  space  occupied  by  prisoners  is  about  six  acres,  enclosed 
by  an  earth- work  three  (3)  feet  in  height ;  within  this  space 
were  confined  as  many  as  ten  thousand  (10,000)  prisoners. 
The  part  occupied  by  the  prisoners  is  a  low,  sandy,  barren 
waste,  exposed  in  summer  to  a  burning  sun,  without  the 
shadow  of  a  single  tree ;  and,  in  winter,  to  the  damp  and 
cold  winds  up  the  river,  with  a  few  miserable  tents,  in 
which,  perhaps,  one-half  (J)  the  number  were  protected 
from  the  night  fogs  of  a  malarious  region ;  the  others  lay 
upon  the  ground  in  the  open  air.  One  of  them  said  to  me  : 
"  W  e  lay  in  rows,  like  hogs  in  winter,  and  take  turns  who 
has  the  outside  of  the  row." 

In  the  morning,  the  row  of  the  previous  night  was 
plainly  marked  by  the  bodies  of  those  who  were  sleeping 
on  in  their  last  sleep. 

Fed  upon  corn  bread  and  water,  scantily  clothed,  with 
but  few  blankets,  our  patriotic  soldiers  here  suffered  the 
severest  misfortunes  of  this  war.  Here,  by  hundreds,  they 
offered  up  their  lives  in  their  country's  cause,  victims  of 
disease,  starvation  and  exposure, — sufferings  a  thousand 
times  more  dreadful  than  the  wounds  of  the  battle-field. 
As  many  as  fourteen  (14)  have  been  known  to  freeze  to 
death  in  one  night.  This  I  have  from  men  of  my  own 
regiment,  and  it  is  perfectly  reliable. 

The  hospitals  upon  the  island  are  Sibley  tents,  without 
floors,  the  ground  covered  with  straw,  and  logs  of  wood 
placed  around  for  pillows,  to  which,  when  about  to  die,  the 
men  were  carried ;  and  here,  with  logs  for  their  pillows,  the 
hard,  cold  ground  for  their  bed,  death  came  to  their  relief, 
and  the  grave  closed  over  the  victims  of  rebel  barbarity. 

The  officer  in  charge  of  the  island  was  well  spoken  of 
by  the  men.  He  deprecated  the  condition  they  were  in, 
but  said  he  could  do  no  more,  for  the  authorities  gave  him 
no  more  to  do  with ;  and  yet  it  is  a  fact  that  the  men  were 
stimulated  to  work  at  their  trades,  as  blacksmiths,  &cv  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Confederate  Government,  by  the  offer  of 
double  the  quantity  of  rations  they  were  then  receiving ; 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION  PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.       159 

tli us  acting  out,  in  their  treatment  of  Northern  soldiers,  the 
great  principle  of  Slavery  and  of  the  South,  that  the  lives 
of  the  poor  and  helpless  are  in  their  eyes  of  no  more  value 
than  the  amount  of  interest  they  will  produce  on  capital. 

The  facilities  for  washing  were  good,  a  sandy  beach  all 
around  the  island,  and  the  whole  number  of  prisoners  could 
have  washed  in  the  course  of  the  day;  but,  under  the 
management  of  the  authorities,  only  a  limited  number  (say 
75  men  per  day)  were  able  to  wash,  being  conducted  under 
guard  to  the  water,  in  squads  of  five  (5)  or  six  (6). 

The  sickness  caused  by  the  above  treatment  was  of  the 
respiratory  organs,  pneumonia,  &c.,  and  chronic  diarrhoea. 

Men  were  without  medical  treatment  on  the  island  until 
disease  was  so  far  advanced  that  when  taken  away  in 
ambulances  to  the  hospital,  in  squads  of  twenty  (20),  one- 
half  (J)  of  them  have  died  within  five  (5)  hours — some  of 
them  while  their  names  were  being  taken  at  the  hospital. 

Men  were  returned  from  the  hospital  to  the  island  when 
so  weak  that  they  have  been  obliged  to  crawl  upon  their 
hands  and  knees  a  part  of  the  way. 

On  the  20th  -of  November,  1863,  a  squad  were  passing  the 
prison  (Libby)  in  this  condition,,  going  from  the  hospital  to 
the  island  ;  among  them  was  George  Ward,  a  schoolmate  of 
mine  and  of  Col.  Ely,  of  the  18th  Conn.  Yols.  Col.  Ely 
threw  a  ham  to  him  from  the  window.  As  the  poor  fellow 
crawled  to  get  it,  the  rebel  guard  charged  bayonets  on  him, 
called  him  a  damned  Yankee,  and  appropriated  the  ham. 

The  bodies  of  the  dead  were  placed  in  the  cellar  of  the 
prison,  to  which  there  was  free  access  for  animals  from  the 
street.  I  have  known  of  bodies  being  partially  devoured 
by  dogs,  and  hogs,  and  rats,  during  the  night.  Every 
morning  the  bodies  were  placed  in  rude  coffins  and  taken 
away  for  burial.  Officers  have  marked  the  coffins  thus 
taken  away,  and  have  seen  them  returned  twenty  (20)  times 
for  bodies.  You  may  draw  your  own  inference  as  to  the 
rites  of  burial  extended  to  a  Yankee  prisoner  in  the  Capital 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 


1GO  APPENDIX. 

Officers  dying,  their  brother  officers  procured  metallic 
coffins  and  a  vault,  in  which  they  were  placed  until  they 
could  be  removed  North.  An  officer,  (Major  Morris,  of 
the  6th  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  I  think,)  who  had  in  the 
hands  of  the  Confederate  authorities  several  hundred  dollars, 
taken  from  him  when  he  entered  the  prison,  died  in  the 
hospital,  and  the  authorities  refused  to  use  his  money  for 
a  decent  burial,  and  we  raised  it  in  the  prison. 

LIBBY  MINED. — Upon  the  approach  of  Kilpatrick  on  his 
grand  raid  on  Richmond,  about  the  1st  March,  the  greatest 
consternation  was  produced  among  the  inhabitants.  The 
authorities  felt  sure  of  his  ability  to  enter  the  city  and  free 
the  prisoners. 

We  were  informed  one  morning  by  the  negroes  who 
labor  around  the  prison,  that  during  the  night  they  had 
been  engaged  in  excavating  a  large  hole  under  the  centre  of 
the  building,  and  that  a  quantity  of  powder  had  been  placed 
therein.  Upon  inquiring  of  certain  of  the  guards,  we  found 
it  the  general  impression  among  them  that  the  prison  was 
mined. 

Richard  Turner,  inspector  of  the  prison,  told  officers  there 
confined,  that  "should  Kilpatrick  succeed  in  entering  Rich 
mond,  it  would  not  help  us,  as  the  prison  authorities  would 
blow  up  the  prison  and  all  its  inmates." 

The  adjutant  of  the  prison,  Lieutenant  Latouche,  was 
heard  by  an  officer  (Lieutenant  Jones,  55th  Ohio,)  to  use 
the  following  words  to  a  rebel  officer  with  whom  he  had 
entered  and  examined  the  cellar  where  the  powder  was  re 
ported  as  placed:  "There  is  enough  there  to  send  every 
damned  Yankee  to  hell." 

Major  Turner  said  in  my  presence  the  day  we  were 
paroled,  in  answer  to  the  question,  "Was  the  prison 
mined?"  "Yes,  and  I  would  have  blown  you  all  to  Hades 
before  I  would  have  suffered  you  to  be  rescued," 

Bishop  Johns  said  in  the  prison,  when  asked  if  he  thought 
it  was  a  Christian  mode,  of  warfare  to  blow  up  defenceless 


TREATMENT  OF  UNION  PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.       161 

prisoners :     "  He  supposed  the  authorities  were  satisfied  on 
that  point,  though  he  did  not  mean  to  justify  it." 
I  am  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

CHAS.  FARNSWORTH. 

Late  Lieutenant-Colonel  ist  Connecticut  Cavalry. 

NORWICH,  June  30^,  1864. 

STATE    OF    CONNECTICUT,  j 
County  of  New  London,    j  ss 

Personally  appeared  CHARLES  FARNS- 
WORTH,  signer  of  the  foregoing  in 
strument  and  statement,  and  made 
solemn  oath  that  the  facts  stated 
therein  are  true,  before  me. 

DAVID  YOUNG, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


Additional    Testimony    by    Letter   of    Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Farnsworth. 


NORWICH,  CONN.,  July  16th,  1864. 
Rev.  TREADWELL  WALDEN, 

Philadelphia : 

SIR  : — Your  favor  of  the  14th  inst.  received.  In  answer 
to  your  request  for  a  written  statement  of  facts,  related  to 
you  by  myself  in  conversation,  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of 
the  guards  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  the  provision  made 
for  the  sick  upon  Belle  Isle,  I  submit  the  following : 

In  what  is  known  as  the  "  Pemberton  buildings,"  nearly 
opposite  the  "  Libby,"  there  were  confined  a  large  number 
of  enlisted  men.  Hardly  a  day  went  by  that  the  guards  did 
not  fire  upon  the  prisoners.  I  have  known  as  many  as 


162  APPENDIX. 

fourteen  shots  to  be  fired  in  one  day.  They  were  thus  sub 
ject  to  death  if  they  merely  came  near  the  window  to  obtain 
fresh  air.  It  was  a  very  common  occurrence  to  hear  the 
report  of  a  musket  and  then  see  the  sergeant  of  the  guard 
bring  out  a  wounded  or  dead  soldier. 

The  guards  would  watch  for  an  opportunity  to  fire  upon 
their  prisoners,  and,  without  warning  the  prisoner  to  leave 
the  vicinity  of  the  wiodow,  fire. 

Lieutenant  Hammond,  of  the  Einggold  cavalry,  (better 
known  to  Libbians  as  "  Old  Imboden,")  was  at  the  sink,  which 
is  constructed  upon  the  outside  of  the  building.  From  the 
upper  part  of  the  sides,  boards  are  removed  for  the  purpose 
of  light  or  ventilation.  The  guard  below  caught  sight  of 
Lieutenant  Hammond's  hat,  through  this  opening,  and  fired. 
The  ball  entered  the  side,  far  below  the  opening,  showing 
that  the  guard  was  intent  upon  striking  his  man ;  but  a  nail 
gave  the  bullet  an  upward  turn  and  it  passed  through  Ham 
mond's  ear  and  hat-brim.  From  the  position  he  was  in, 
there  is  little  doubt  that  but  for  the  ball  striking  the  nail 
he  would  have  been  struck  in  the  breast. 

The  attention  of  Major  Turner  was  called  to  it,  but  he 
only  laughed  and  said,  "  The  boys  were  in  want  of  practice." 
The  guard,  when  spoken  to  about  it,  said,  "  He  had  made  a 
bet  he  would  kill  a  damned  Yankee  before  he  came  off 
guard."  There  was  not  the  least  attention  paid  by  the  com 
mander  of  Libby  prison  to  this  deliberate  attempt  at  murder. 

Lieutenant  Thos.  Huggins,  of  a  New  York  regiment,  was 
standing  at  least  eight  feet  from  a  window  on  the  second 
floor ;  the  guard  could  just  see  the  top  of  his  hat  To  be 
sure  of  his  man,  the  guard  left  his  beat  and  stepped  into  the 
street.  Being  seen,  a  warning  cry  was  uttered,  and  Huggins 
stooped  and  the  bullet  buried  itself  in  the  beams  above. 
This  was  the  same  guard  that  fired  at  Hammond. 

Richard,  or  as  usually  called,  Dick  Turner  was  the  in 
spector  of  the  prison,  and  acted  under  the  orders  of  the 
commander.  There  was  nothing  too  mean  for  him  to  do. 
He  searched  you  when  you  entered,  knocked  you  down  if 


TREATMENT  OF  UNION  PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.       163 

you  grumbled,  took  your  blanket  from  you  if  found  lying 
upon  it  after  morning  roll-call,  never  spoke  of  you  except 
as  damned  Yankees — told  you  "you  were  better  treated  than 
you  deserved." 

This  "high-toned  Southron"  was  employed  as  the  negro- 
whipper  of  the  prison. 

Colonel  Powell,  2d  Virginia  cavalry,  (Union,)  Colonel 
Streight  and  Captain  Eeed,  51st  Indiana,  and  others  who 
had  been  confined  in  the  cells,  used  to  witness  the  whippings, 
(the  cells  were  at  one  end  of  the  cellar  where  the  whipping- 
block  was,)  and  they  could  hear, — even  if  they  shut  their 
6}  es  to  the  horrid  exhibition. 

Colonels  Powell  and  Streight  told  me  of  as  many  as  six 
negro  women  having  been  stripped  and  whipped,  at  one 
time,  for  having  passed  bread  to  our  soldiers  as  they 
marched  through  the  street. 

The  flogging  of  the  negroes  that  worked  at  the  Libby 
was  an  every-day  occurrence. 

These  blacks  were  free  negroes  from  the  North,  who  were 
employed  as  servants,  but  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
He  flogged  one  of  them  so  severely  that  he  was  unable  to 
move  for  two  weeks,  and  walked  lame  months  after.  His 
offence  was  resisting  a  white  negro-driver. 

The  hospital  tents  on  Belle  Isle  were  old  Sibleys.  These 
were  not  temporary  hospitals,  for  many  died  in  them  each 
day ;  but  when  they  could  not  contain  all  the  sick  some 
sick  were  removed  to  Eichmond  hospitals.  These  tents 
were  awful  places  for  human  beings  to  be  placed  in — with 
out  floors,  a  heap  of  straw  for  a  bed,  logs  of  wood  for  pil 
lows— ^men  died  with  less  attention  than  many  a  man  pays 
to  a  favorite  dog.  The  hospitals  in  Kichmond  were  much 
bolter,  being  in  buildings,  and  were  furnished  with  bunks 
and  straw  beds — some  of  them  with  sheets.  But  though 
treated  with  kindness,  compared  with  Belle  Island,  the 
want  of  proper  medicines  was  visible,  and  many  died  for 
the  want  of  the  most  simple  remedies. 

Upon  the  25th  of  October,  1863,  two  officers,  (Major 


161  APPENDIX. 

Hewsten,  132d  New  York,  and  a  Lieutenant  4th  New 
York  Cavalry,)  escaped  from  the  hospital.  Immediately, 
upon  its  being  known,  all  the  sick  who  were  well  enough 
to  sit  up  or  stand,  were  removed  from  the  room  and 
placed  in  an  empty  room  under  our  prison.  Here  they 
were  kept  for  twenty-four  hours,  without  food  or  blankets, 
as  a  punishment,  it  was  said,  for  not  reporting  the  contem 
plated  escape  of  the  officers  named.  From  this  treatment, 
Surgeon  Pierce  of  the  5th  Maryland  died. 

The  officers  in  the  room  above,  removed  a  portion  of 
the  floor  and  furnished  the  sick  with  food  and  drink,  and 
shared  their  blankets  with  them.  This  coming  to  the 
knowledge  of  Major  Turner,  we  were  deprived  of  rations 
for  one  day— October  29th,  1863. 

This  was  not  the  action  of  the  surgeons  of  the  Libby, 
for,  with  one  exception,  they  were  kind  and  attentive,  and 
did  all  in  their  power  for  our  comfort,  but  of  the  com 
mander  of  the  department,  Brigadier-General  Winder,  and 
of  Major  Turner,  commander  of  the  prison,  who,  I  am  in 
formed,  was  dismissed  from  West  Point,  by  orders  from  the 
Secretary  of  War,  having  been  convicted  of  forgery. 

I  was  informed  by  men  whom  I  knew — Ward  and  Win- 
ship  of  the  18th  Connecticut,  and  Ferris  and  Stone  of  the 
1st  Connecticut — that  the  enclosure  in  Belle  Isle  was  a 
mass  of  filth  every  morning,  from  the  inability  of  the  men 
to  proceed  to  the  sinks  after  evening. 

Many  of  the  guards  would  fire  upon  the  prisoners  for 
the  least  violation  of  the  rules.  The  men  were  in  a  miser 
able  condition  and  looked  sickly,  worn  out — starvation 
and  exposure  was  expressed  upon  their  features. 

Trusting  that  the  above  will  assist  you  in  your  report. 
I  am  respectfully  yours, 

CHAELES  FAKNSWOETH. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed   before  me,  this 
1 8th  day,  of  July,  A.  D.  1864, 

DAVID  YOUNG, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


TREATMENT  OF   UNION   PRISONERS   BY   KEBELS.       165 


Testimony  taken  at  Washington,   D.  C.,  June  2d, 

1864. 

COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT : 

MB.  WILKINS,  DR.  WALLACE,  MR.  WALDEN. 


Surgeon  NELSON  D.  FERGUSON,  sivorn  and  examined: — 

Surgeon  8th  New  York  Cavalry ;  residence,  Jefferson 
county,  1ST.  Y. ;  captured  12th  May,  1863 ;  taken  to  Libby 
Prison  same  day;  remained  there  twelve  days;  found 
Union  officers  there ;  my  treatment  same  as  officers  re 
ceived  ;  daily  rations,  when  first  entered,  were  four  inches 
by  four  inches  by  two  of  unbolted  bread,  which  was  coarse 
and  sour  about  half  the  time;  a  ration  of  beans,  worm- 
eaten,  once  a  day ;  about  seven  quarts  to  fifty-three  or 
fifty-four  men,  or  a  gill  to  each  man  was  served  ;  no  other 
food  was  furnished  by  the  Confederates ;  what  other  they 
had  was  bought  with  their  own  money. 

(The  ration  of  light  bread  of  a  common  soldier  in  the 
United  States  Army  is  twenty-two  ounces,  and  twelve 
ounces  of  pork  or  twenty  of  beef;  besides  that,  our  sol 
diers  have  thirty  pound  of  potatoes  for  one  hundred  ra 
tions,  or  nearly  a  third  of  a  pound  per  day  to  each  man, 
besides  coffee  and  sugar,  &c.,  &c.) 

The  food  furnished  us  was  insufficient  for  healthful  sup 
port  of  life. 

When  I  reached  the  Libby  Prison  there  were  say 
twenty-five  Union  officers,  no  more,  in  the  prison,  recently 
captured ;  all  the  former  occupants  had  been  removed,  as 
I  am  informed  (and  believe)  by  the  rebels,  to  the  number 


166  APPENDIX. 

of  seven  hundred  or  over ;  when  I  left  the  prison  on  the 
28th,  there  were  sixty -nine  Union  officers  there. 

I  spent  four  days  in  Hospital  No.  21,  where  wounded 
Union  prisoners  (very  few  sick)  were  under  treatment ;  I 
was  there  partly  as  a  visitor,  and  also  did  partial  duty  as  a 
surgeon  in  the  ward ;  I  was  too  ill  to  do  full  duty ;  I  had 
better  rations  in  the  hospital  than  in  prison,  for  I  had  rye 
coffee  and  a  little  meat,  say  two  ounces  daily,  very  poor 
bacon ;  the  wounded  men  had  the  same  ration  of  bread,  no 
beans,  two  ounces  of  meat,  rye  coffee,  occasionally  a  little 
sugar,  and  one  gallon  milk,  and  one  gallon  whisky,  divided 
among  two  hundred  and  sixty  men,  or  about  a  tablespoon- 
ful  of  whisky  and  milk  per  man ;  they  had  no  other  nutri 
ment  or  stimulation. 

I  consider  the  nourishment  and  stimulation  they  received 
entirely  insufficient  to  give  them  a  proper  chance  for  re 
covery.  I  am  surprised  that  more  do  not  die.  There  were 
many  bad  cases  among  them  that  must  inevitably  sink 
under  this  treatment  after  a  few  days,  and  therefore  I  can 
not  state  the  true  proportion  of  deaths.  The  condition  of 
these  men  was  such  that  any  medical  observer  would  im 
pute  it  to  insufficient  stimulation  and  nutrition.  The  condi 
tion  of  the  wounds  generally  was  very  unhealthy,  not 
tending  to  heal,  pale  and  flabby,  and  the  tissues  lax — -just 
such  a  condition  as  we  expect  to  see  where  the  patient  is 
improperly  nourished  by  deficient  nutrition.  These  wounded 
have  all  been  brought  there  since  the  battle  of  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House. 

When  I  was  captured,  I  was  brought  into  a  rebel  fort. 
It  was  raining.  I  had  on  a  rubber  blanket ;  the  blanket  was 
taken  from  my  shoulders  by  a  lieutenant,  by  the  authority 
and  consent  of  the  commanding  officer.  I  remonstrated 
against  his  taking  my  private  property,  and  appealed  to 
the  commanding  officer  for  protection,  and  to  protect  my 
rights.  He  replied,  "  Damn  you,  you  have  no  rights."  It  was 
not  possible  for  him  to  have  been  ignorant  of  the  fact  that 
I  was  a  medical  officer.  Some  two  or  three  hours  after- 


TKEATMENT  OF   UNION"   PBISONEES  BY   KEBELS.       167 

wards,  when  I  was  about  to  leave  the  fort  for  Libby 
Prison,  the  lieutenant  remarked  to  me,  "I  hope  I  have 
treated  you  kindly."  I  replied,  "  I  have  always  treated 
your  men  and  officers  with  kindness  and  consideration, 
but  you  have  treated  me  harshly."  I  don't  think  he  made 
any  reply.  The  Provost-Marshal  took  away  my  sabre.  I 
told  him  it  was  my  private  property,  and  that  he  ought  not 
to  take  it  away,  and  his  answer  was,  "  It  don't  make  any 
difference,  I  have  a  friend  to  whom  I  intend  to  give  it." 

I  have  had  wounded  rebels  under  my  hand  for  treatment 
on  various  occasions.  The  course  I  have  always  adopted  is, 
to  take  care  of  my  own  men  first,  then  the  rebels,  giving 
them  equal  care  and  attention  of  every  kind.  I  have  taken 
my  own  private  rations  and  given  them  repeatedly  to 
wounded  rebels.  All  other  medical  officers  of  our  army 
have  done  likewise,  as  far  as  my  observation  has  extended. 
I  have  been  in  the  service  two  years  and  eight  months, 
and  I  have  been  in  all  the  cavalry  fights  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  since  I  entered  the  service. 

The  buildings  in  Eichmond  occupied  for  hospital  pur 
poses  are  well  suited  for  such  purposes,  being  large,,  con 
venient,  and  well  ventilated.  The  wards  are  well  supplied 
with  water,  and  tolerably  cleanly.  The  prison  (Libby)  had 
just  been  thoroughly  cleaned  and  was  well  white-washed. 
In  the  prison,  we  had  one  blanket  as  bed,  and  one  as  cover. 
No  one  can  appreciate,  without  experience,  the  condi 
tion  of  the  officers  in  the  prison  during  the  twelve  days  of 
my  stay.  Their  faces  were  pinched  with  hunger.  I  have 
seen  an  officer,  standing  by  the  window,  gnawing  a  bone 
like  a  dog.  I  asked  him  "what  do  you  do  it  for  ?"  II: s  reply 
was,  "  it  will  help  fill  up."  They  were  constantly  complain 
ing  of  hunger.  There  was  a  sad  and  insatiable  expression 
of  the  face  impossible  to  describe. 

The  bedding  in  Hospital  No.  21,  where  the  privates 
were  confined  by  wounds,  was  very  dirty.  The  covering 
was  entirely  old  dirty  quilts.  The  beds  were  offensive  from 
the  discharges  from  wounds  and  secretions  of  the  body, 


168  APPENDIX. 

and  were  utterly  unfit  to  place  a  sick  or  wounded  man  on. 
On  the  faces  of  the  wounded  there  was  an  anxious,  hag 
gard  expression  of  countenance,  such  as  I  have  never  seen 
before.  I  attribute  it  to  want  of  care,  want  of  nourishment 
and  encouragement.  There  is  a  deficiency  of  medical  sup 
plies,  such  as  bandages,  lint,  sticking-plaster,  and  medicines 
generally  in  this  hospital,  whether  from  actual  want  of 
these  articles,  or  from  unwillingness  to  supply  them,  I  do 
not  know. 

K  D.  FEEGUSON, 

Surgeon  8th  N.  Y.  Cavalry. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me,  at 
Washington,  D.  C.,  this  3d 
day  of  June,  A.  D.  1864. 

M.  H.  K  KENDIG, 

Notary  Public. 

D.  W.  EICHARDS,  M.  D.,  sworn  and  examined: — 

Eesidence,  Northampton  County,  Pa. ;  employment,  As 
sistant  Surgeon  in  l-±5th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers ;  taken 
prisoner  May  10th,  1863 ;  taken  near  Spottsylvania  Court 
House,  and  conveyed  to  Prison  Hospital  No.  21,  in  Eich- 
mond,  on  the  20th  of  May,  and  left  there  28th  May. 

I  have  heard  Dr.  Ferguson's  deposition,  as  made  before 
this  Committee.  I  corroborate  that  testimony  as  relating  to 
the  condition  and  treatment  of  wounded  prisoners.  I  know 
nothing  further  in  regard  to  this  matter. 

D.  W.  EICHAEDS, 

Assistant  Surgeon  i45th  P.  V. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me,  at 
Washington,  D.  C.,  this  3d 
day  of  June,  A.  D.  1864. 

M.  H.  N.  KENDIG, 

Notary  Public. 


EVIDENCE 

OF  UNITED  STATES  AEMY  SUEGEONS,  IN  CHAEGE  OP  THE 
POUE  HOSPITALS  AT  ANNAPOLIS  AND  BALTIMORE,  MD,; 
TO   WHICH  EETUENED  UNION   PEISONEES   WEEE 
BEOUGHT  FEOM  EIOHMOND,  VA, 

Also,  Evidence  obtained  from  Eye-  Witnesses. 


Testimony  of  Surgeon  B.  A.  VanderKieft,  in  charge 
of  United  States  Army  General  Hospital  Divi 
sion  No.  i,  Annapolis,  Maryland.     Taken 
at  the  Hospital,  May  jist,  1864. 

COMMISSIONEKS  PRESENT : 

MR.  WILKINS,  DR.  WALLACE,  MR.  WALDEN. 


I  have  been  the  recipient  of  all  the  prisoners  returned 
from  Richmond  since  the  1st  of  June,  18  60,  except  one 
steamboat  load  which  were  four  hundred  to  five  hundred. 
I  have  received,  I  should  judge,  nearly  (3000)  three  thou 
sand;  these  are  in  a  debilitated  condition,  badly  clad,  and 
down- spirited,  on  account  of  ill-treatment  by  starvation  and 
exposure,  as  they  all  on  inquiry  agree  in  stating,  and  as  I 
am  convinced  is  the  case  by  their  actual  condition  on  their 
arrival,  and  by  rations  shown  to  me,  which  they  unanimously 
state  are  the  only  ones  given  them. 

(169) 


170       ,  APPENDIX. 

They  unanimously  state  that  their  blankets,  overcoats, 
watches,  and  jewelry  and  money  have  been  taken  from 
them,  partially  by  their  immediate  captors,  but  also  in  a 
quasi- official  way,  telling  them  that  they  will  be  restored 
when  they  are  released,  which,  as  far  as  I  know,  and  have 
been  informed,  has  never  been  done. 

The  returned  prisoners  state  that  the  officials,  such  as 
guards  and  nurses,  often  receive  money  from  them,  such  as 
they  may  have  been  able  to  secrete,  with  the  promise  that 
they  shall  have  the  equivalent  returned  in  food,  which  pro 
mise  is  not  performed. 

Colonel  Palmer  de  Cesinola  (4th  New  York  Cavalry)  told 
me  that  while  acting  as  distributing  commissary  of  articles 
of  food  and  clothing  sent  by  United  States  Government  and 
United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  he  observed  that  some 
of  our  prisoners  at  Kichmond  and  Belle  Isle,  in  order  to 
receive  a  less  cruel  treatment  and  to  obtain  larger  rations, 
were  acting  as  shoemakers  for  the  Rebel  Government.  He 
at  once  told  those  men  that  such  action  was  disloyal,  as  by 
so  doing  they  indirectly  assisted  the  rebellion.  The  result  of 
this  his  remark  induced  the  rebel  authorities  to  deprive  him 
of  the  privilege  of  being  longer  a  distributing  commissary. 

Almost  in  all  cases  I  find  that  our  men  state  that  when 
they  were  captured,  they  were  in  very  good  condition  as  to 
general  physical  health;  but  I  do  not  even  need  such  a 
statement,  as  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  regulations 
which  govern  the  medical  department  of  our  army,  "to 
send  to  the  rear  every  man  who  is  not  perfectly  able  to  bear 
arms,"  and  if  a  few  feeble  men  have  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  rebels,  they  belong  to  the  class  called  "stragglers," 
which  certainly  belong  to  the  minority. 

From  my  experience  of  fifteen  years  of  constant  medical 
and  military  service  in  Northern  Europe,  the  East  Indies; 
and  Mediterranean,  as  well  as  in  our  own  army  since  Sep 
tember,  1861,  I  affirm  that  the  treatment  to  which  our  men 
have  been  subjected  while  prisoners  of  war  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  is  against  all  rules  of  civilized  warfare,  and  that 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION   PRISONERS   BY  REBELS.       171 

I  would  prefer  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Chinese  of  Borneo, 
called  "Anack  Baba,"  who  murder  their  prisoners,  than  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  rebels,  where  the  lives  and  com 
fort  of  prisoners  of  war  is  a  matter  of  such  cruel  indiffer 
ence,  to  say  the  least,  if  not  indeed,  as  one  might  almost  be 
justified  in  supposing,  a  matter  of  determined  policy. 

If  I  may  believe  the  statements  of  our  returned  prisoners, 
the  diseases  under  which  they  are  suffering  when  they  come 
into  my  hands,  are  attributable  to  the  following  causes,  one 
or  more:  deprivation  of  clothing,  deficiency  of  food  in 
quantity  and  quality,  want  of  fresh  air,  on  account  of  over 
crowding  in  prison  buildings  and  consequent  unavoidable 
uncleanliness,  and  mental  depression,  the  result  of  the 
above  causes,  and  want  of  adequate  shelter,  exposure  dur 
ing  the  fall  and  winter. 

The  diseases  most  common  among  these  returned  prisoners 
are  scurvy,  diarrhoea,  and  congestion  of  the  lungs,  which 
are  not  amenable  to  the  ordinary  treatment  in  use  in  civil 
life  or  in  hospitals  of  our  own  army. 

They  are  most  successfully  mastered  by  high  nutrition 
and  stimulation,  with  cleanliness  and  fresh  air — medicinal 
treatment  being  of  small  assistance  in  the  recovery  of  the 
sufferers,  and  often  being  entirely  dispensed  with. 

The  medical  records  in  my  office  show  that  this  system 
is  the  only  valid  and  effective  mode  of  management,  thus 
proving  by  the  counteracting  effect  of  good  food,  air,  clean 
liness,  and  stimulants,  that  these  disorders  are  the  result  of 
the  causes  above  stated. 

I  swear  the  above  statement  to  be  true. 

B.  A.  YANDEEKIEFT, 

Surgeon  U.  S.  Volunteers  in  Charge. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me,  this  sixth 
day  of  June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
four,  (June  6th,  1864.) 

[SEAL.]  H.  P.  LESLIE, 

Notary  Public,  for  and  in  the  County 
of  Anne  Arundel,  Maryland. 


172  APPENDIX. 


Testimony,  by  Letter,  of  Surgeon  William  S.  Ely, 
Executive  Officer   U.   S.   A.   General  Hos 
pital  Division,    No.    i,  Annapolis, 
Maryland,  June  6th,  1864. 


DB  ELLERSLIE  WALLACE: 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 

DOCTOR: — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  communication  of  the 
2d  inst.,  and  would  reply  as  follows : — 

I  am  an  Assistant  Surgeon  of  Volunteers  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States,  and  have  been  on  duty  in  this  hospital 
since  October  3d;  1863,  as  executive  officer  and  medical 
officer  in  charge  of  a  ward.  I  have  been  present  on  the 
arrival  of  nearly  every  boat  load  of  paroled  prisoners  since 
my  connection  with  this  hospital  commenced. 

I  remember  distinctly  the  arrival  of  the  flag-of-truce 
steamer  "New  York,"  November  18th,  1863,  and  was  present 
and  assisted  in  unloading  the  men.  I  went  on  board  the 
boat  and  saw  bodies  of  six  (6)  men  who  had  died  during 
the  passage  of  the  steamer  from  City  Point,  Yav  to  this 
place.  No  words  can  describe  their  appearance.  In  each 
case  the  sunken  eye,  the  gaping  mouth,  the  filthy  skin,  the 
clothes  and  head  alive  with  vermin,  the  repelling,  bony 
contour — all  conspired  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  we 
were  looking  upon  the  victims  of  starvation,  cruelty  and 
exposure,  to  a  degree  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  hu 
manity. 

I  have  never  seen  more  than  the  above  number  of  dead  in 
any  single  arrival;  but  at  other  dates,  and  on  several  occa 
sions,  I  have  seen  two  (2)  and  three  (3)  dead  on  board  the 
boat,  and  have  repeatedly  known  four  (4)  or  six  (6)  to  die 
within  twelve  (12)  hours  of  their  reception  into  hospital. 


TREATMENT   OF   TJXIOH  PRISONERS   BY   REBELS.       173 

The  same  condition  evidenced  in  the  cases  of  the  six  (6)  re 
ferred  to  above,  has  characterized  nearly  every  instance,  and 
leads  us  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion  that  death  has  been 
owing  to  a  long  series  of  exposure  and  hardships,  with  a 
deprivation  of  the  barest  necessities  for  existence. 

I  have  known  paroled  prisoners  of  war  to  be  admitted  to 
this  hospital  with  barely  sufficient  clothing  to  cover  their 
nakedness.  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  seen  any  single  case 
where  a  patient  was  admitted  without  either  hat,  coat,  shoes, 
shirt,  or  stockings,  but  I  have  repeatedly  seen  men  without 
one  (1),  two  (2),  or  three  (3)  of  these  articles,  and  think  thaf 
I  can  say,  that  when  they  possessed  all,  it  was  an  excep 
tional  case.  It  is  our  rule  to  strip  each  patient  to  his  skin, 
and  provide  all  with  entirely  new  clothing,  because  rags,  filth 
and  vermin  preponderate  so  largely  as  to  render  any  further 
use  of  the  various  articles  of  apparel  upon  the  bodies  of 
patients  reaching  this  point  from  Eichmond,  Ya.,  unhealthy, 
and  in  opposition  to  the  simplest  principles  of  hygiene. 

Patients,  when  asked  the  manner  in  which  they  lost  their 
clothing,  reply  that  they  were  robbed  of  what  they  had 
when  captured,  or  else,  that  during  their  imprisonment, 
oftentimes  extending  over  many  months,  their  clothing, 
piece  by  piece,  wore  out,  and  that  they  had  no  opportunity 
to  procure  a  change. 

It  is  impossible  for  any.  save  those  who  have  seen  the 
condition  of  paroled  men  soon  after  their  release  from  cap 
tivity,  to  have  any  idea  of  the  state  of  the  skin  covering  their 
bodies.  In  many  cases  that  I  have  observed,  the  dirt  incrus 
tation  has  been  so  thick  as  to  require  months  of  constant 
ablution  to  recover  the  normal  condition  and  function  of  the 
integument.  Patients  have  repeatedly  stated,  in  answer  to 
my  interrogations,  "  that  they  had  been  unable  to  wash  their 
bodies  once  in  six  (6)  months ;"  that  all  that  time  they  had 
lain  in  the  dirt,  and,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  the 
filth  accumulation  was  constantly  increasing.  Frequently, 
the  entire  cuticle  must  die  and  be  detached  before  any 
healthy  action  can  be  recovered. 


174  APPENDIX. 

I  know  not  how  to  better  compare  the  cutaneous  condi 
tion  of  these  men  in  its  different  morbid  states,  than  to  liken 
it,  in  feeling,  to  the  effect  produced  upon  the  fingers  by  pass 
ing  them  over  sand-paper  from  the  coarsest  quality  down  to 
that  moderately  fine. 

Diaphoretic  action  in  many  such  cases,  I  have  found 
almost  unattainable.  When  we  consider  the  importance  of 
the  cutaneous  secretion,  relative  to  a  state  of  health,  it  can 
not  be  denied  that,  in  many  instances  under  attention,  this 
is  the  prime  exciting  cause  of  the  diseases  of  the  pulmonary 
and  abdominal  organs,  which  are  so  constantly  found  among 
our  Richmond  patients. 

A  great  many  post-mortem  examinations  of  paroled  pri 
soners  who  have  died  in  our  hospitals,  have  been  made  by 
myself  and  others.  The  thoracic  organs  are  seldom  found 
healthy.  The  pectoral  muscles  are  so  much  wasted  as  to  ren 
der  the  walls  of  the  chest,  to  a  certain  extent,  transparent. 
The  lungs  frequently  are  found  filling  but  half  the  pulmo 
nary  cavities.  Old  pleuritic  adhesions,  in  all  degrees  of  ex 
tent,  are  generally  seen ;  almost  invariably  there  is  a  local 
stasis  or  congestion  of  blood,  posteriorly  and  about  the 
roots  of  the  lungs ;  the  heart  is  found  flaccid,  and  often  its 
walls  are  attenuated ;  when  taken  out  and  laid  down,  it  flat 
tens  from  its  own  weight,  is  seldom  filled  with  a  substantial 
clot,  and  generally  contains  but  a  very  little  dark,  thin  blood. 
Tubercular  deposit  is  sometimes  very  extensive,  and  in  cases 
where  there  is  no  external  appearance  favoring  the  scrofu 
lous  diathesis,  leading  me  to  the  conclusion  that  it  has  been 
engendered  ofttimes,  in  a  previously  healthy  subject,  by  the 
deprivation  of  good,  wholesome  food,  and  the  combination 
of  unhealthy  influences,  to  which  so  many  of  our  prisoners 
of  war  succumb.  The  liver  is  unusually  pale  in  color,  and 
of  anaemic  aspect ;  the  intestines  are  sometimes  much  dis 
eased,  but  frequently  healthy.  I  have  known  many  in 
stances  of  marked  chronic  diarrhoea,  resulting  fatally,  yet 
disclosing  no  organic  intestinal  changes  or  morbid  appear 
ances, — favoring  the  supposition  that  the  diarrhoea  is  often 


TREATMENT   OF  UNION  PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.      175 

only  a  symptom  of  a  want  of  tonicity,  not  of  organic  dis 
ease. 

I  consider  the  frequency  of  pulmonary  congestions  among 
our  patients  from  Richmond,  owing  to  the  altered  condition 
of  the  fluids  of  the  system,  especially  the  blood ;  its  fibri- 
nous  portion  becomes  diminished,  and  stagnation  takes  place 
in  the  most  depending  portions  of  the  lungs,  giving  us  what 
we  term  a  hypostatic  pneumonia,  depending  on  the  want  of 
tone  in  the  vessels  and  consequent  enfeebled. circulation. 

The  treatment  which  I  have  found  most  effective  in  aid 
ing  the  restoration  to  health  of  our  reduced  Richmond 
patients  is,  very  briefly,  as  follows :  Quinine,  iron,  and  cod- 
liver  oil,  (in  their  different  preparations  and  combinations,) 
in  small  doses;  liquid  concentrated  nourishment,  a  rigid 
enforcement  of  cleanliness,  and  regularity  in  eating  and 
drinking,  and,  if  possible,  the  hygienic  advantages  of  a  tent 
ward. 

Our  records  exhibit  a  mortality  among  our  patients  frorn 
Richmond  of  18  per  cent. 

I  am,  Doctor,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WILLIAM  S.  ELY, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  Volunteers. 

Personally  appeared  before  me  this  sixth 
day  of  June,  1864,  William  S.  Ely, 
Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  Volunteers, 
and  took  oath  that  the  statements 
above  made  are  true  to  the  best  of 
his  knowledge  and  belief. 

[SEAL.]  HENRY  P.  LESLIE, 

Notary  Public,  Anne  Arundel  Co.,  Md. 


178  APPENDIX. 


Testimony  of  Surgeon   G.    B.   Parker  in  charge  of 

United  States  Army  General  Hospital,  Division 

No.  2,  Annapolis,   Maryland.     Taken  at 

the    Hospital    May   jist,    1864. 

ALL  THE  COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT. 


Surgeon  G.  B.  PARKER,  sworn  and  examined: — 

J  have  been  in  charge  of  this  hospital  one  year.  During 
this  time  I  have  received  a  large  number  of  prisoners  in 
exchange.  Their  condition  has  been  very  low,  very  feeble, 
since  last  June.  The  large  proportion  of  the  cases  received 
here  are  marked  "  Debilitas."  It  was  not  specific  disease 
with  them ;  where  it  was,  it  was  coupled  with  debility. 

The  majority  of  the  diseased  cases  were  diarrhoea  caused 
by  bad  diet — of  insufficient  and  bad  quality ;  they  have  re 
sulted  from  the  want  of  variety  of  diet.  This  will  produce 
scurvy. 

I  have  seen  an  hundred  of  the  rations  served  to  the  men. 
I  do  not  consider  the  rations  I  have  seen  sufficient  for  the 
support  of  life  for  any  long  time. 

We  give  our  men  twenty  ounces  of  beef  on  a  march, 
per  day,  and  twenty-two  ounces  of  bread ;  fourteen  ounces 
of  meat  and  ten  ounces  of  bread  will  keep  any  man  from 
starving  ;  less  than  twelve  ounces  of  bread  and  ten  ounces 
of  meat  per  diem  would  produce  disease,  and  if  long  con 
tinued,  would  fail  to  keep  life  up  to  the  standard  in  a  great 
majority  of  men.  Lower  than  this  would  end  in  debility  and 


TREATMENT  OF  UNION   PEISONERg   BY  EEBELS.      177 

decline ;  in  proportion  as  you  vary  a  man's  diet,  so  is  "his 
general  health.* 

The  majority  of  the  men  did  walk  from  the  landing  here. 
We  did  not  receive  the  worst  cases.  In  the  main,  the  diseases 
were  produced  by  insufficient  and  a  bad  quality  of  diet. 
Their  stomachs  were  not  able  to  retain  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  solid  food  when  the  men  first  got  here.  I  was  led  to  the 
belief  that  the  diarrhoea  was  produced  by  bad  diet. 

I  found  nutrition  was  the  most  successful  treatment. 

Have  had  cases  of  frost  bite  here  resulting  in  mortifica 
tion  of  the  ends  of  the  toes.  Those  were  cases  from  Rich 
mond,  eight  or  ten  cases. 

Though  the  men  would  be  strong  enough  to  walk  from 
the  dock  up  here,  at  the  same  time  they  were  in  that  debil 
itated  condition  that  a  slight  change  of  air  would  cause 
congestion  of  the  lungs,  and  death.  Stimulants  and  tonics 
are  largely  used. 

There  were  a  good  many  cases  of  scurvy.  In  the  ma 
jority  of  cases  of  diarrhoea,  there  would  be  scorbutic  symp 
toms.  I  had  at  one  time  eight  returned  prisoners  who  lost 
their  teeth.  I  suppose  this  was  owing  to  the  treatment 
these  men  had  received,  and  their  diet. 

At  the  hospital  we  give  each  man  twenty  ounces  of  bread 
per  day,  and  one  pound  of  meat,  including  bone  ;  could  not 
give  the  per  centage  of  bone ;  we  also  give  vegetables.  In 
the  winter  we  give  cabbage,  potatoes  rice  and  beans,  mo 
lasses,  tea,  butter.  A  healthy  soldier  would  get  no  butter. 
Twelve  ounces  of  meat  and  twelve  ounces  of  bread  per  day, 
rejecting  the  other  articles,  would  be  insufficient  to  preserve 
good  health. 

G.  B.  PARKER. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
May  3ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR. 

United  States  Commissioner. 


*  A  ration  which,  had  been  given  to  one  of  the  men,  produced  and 
weighed : — weight  two  ounces  of  bread,  and  three-sixteenths  of  an 
ounce  of  meat  in  its  dry  s.tate. 

12 


J  J8  APPENDIX. 


June  ist,  1864. 
COMMISSIONER  PRESENT  : 

HON.  J.  I.  CLARK  HARE. 


Surgeon  G.  B.  PARKER,  who  was  before  sworn,  recalled: — 

A  great  many  of  those  whom  I  mentioned  yesterday  as 
suffering  from  debility  and  no  specific  disease,  afterwards 
recovered.  Several  cases  where  their  appearance  was  really 
favorable  died  very  suddenly.  On  examination,  post  mor 
tem,  they  were  found  exsanguinated  to  a  wonderful  degree ; 
the  evidence  of  which  was  in  large  white  fibrinous  clots 
in  the  left  side  of  the  heart,  and  extending  into  the  aorta. 
This  was  found  to  be  the  case  with  a  majority  of  those  who 
died.  In  other  cases  as  I  mentioned  yesterday,  they  would 
take  on  acute  disease,  generally  congestion  of  the  lungs, 
and  die  within  twenty -four  hours  after  the  attack. 

G.  B.  PARKER, 

Assistant  Surgeon,  U.  S.  Army. 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION  PRISONERS  BY   REBELS.       179 


Testimony  of  Surgeon  De  Witt  C.  Peters,  in  charge 

of  Jarvis  General  Hospital,  Baltimore,  Md., 

taken  at  Baltimore  June  ist,  1864. 

COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT : 

DR.  MOTT,  DR.  DELAFIELD,  JFDGE  HARE. 


DE  WITT  C.  PETER&,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am  an  Assistant-Surgeon  of  the  United  States  Army, 
stationed  at  Jarvis  General  Hospital;  Baltimore.  On  or 
about  the  16th  of  April,  1864,  I  received  at  the  hospital 
over  which  I  have  charge,  some  two  hundred  and  fifty 
paroled  prisoners  of  war,  recently  returned  from  Belle 
Island  and  Eichmond. 

The  greater  majority  of  these  men  were  in  a  semi-state 
of  nudity.  They  were  laboring  under  such  diseases  as 
chronic  diarrhoea,  phthisis  pulmonalis,  scurvy,  frost  bites, 
general  debility,  caused  by  starvation,  neglect,  and  exposure. 

Many  of  them  had  partially  lost  their  reason,  forgetting 
even  the  date  of  their  capture  and  every  thing  connected 
with  their  antecedent  history.  They  resemble,  in  many 
respects,  patients  laboring  under  cretinism. 

They  were  filthy  in  the  extreme,  covered  with  vermin. 
Some  had  extensive  bed  sores  caused  by  laying  in  the  sand 
and  dirt,  and  nearly  all  were  extremely  emaciated ;  so  much 
so  that  they  had  to  be  cared  for  even  like  infants. 

Their  hair  had  not  been  cut,  nor  the  men  shaved  in  many 
instances  for  montlis. 

On  inquiry  of  these  men  as  to  what  was  the  matter  with 
them,  the  invariable  answer  was,  starvation,  exposure,  and 
neglect,  while  prisoners  on  Belle  Island.  They  informed 
me,  that  while  on  Belle  Island  during  the  inclement  months 


180 

of  the  past  winter,  there  were  congregated  at  one  time,  in  a 
^pace  less  than  three  acres,  one  hundred  and  ten  squads  of 
prisoners,  each  numbering  one  hundred  persons.  Less  than 
half  of  these  had  old  worn  out  Sibley  and  other  tents  for 
shelter.  The  remainder  were  obliged  to  accommodate  them 
selves  as  best  they  could.  But  a  few  of  them  had  blankets. 
These  were  issued  to  them  by  our  Government  under  flag  of 
truce.  Some  had  overcoats.  Many  had  no  shoes  except 
patches  that  they  had  contrived  themselves. 

Those  that  escaped  freezing  to  death  during  the  cold 
nights,  did  so  by  exercising  and  by  huddling  together  in 
heaps  like  hogs,  alternating  places  with  those  more  exposed 
in  the  heaps,  and  with  those  in  the  tents,  until  at  last  they 
were  obliged  to  go  to  the  hospital.  * 

They  informed  me,  that  each  morning,  numbers  were 
found  frozen  to  death,  who  had  probably  died  from  other 
causes — exhaustion.  They  stated  to  me  further,  that  they 
believed  this  system  of  slow  starvation  was  carried  on  to 
prevent  other  men  from  enlisting  in  our  army. 

The  ration  allowed  them  was  a  small  piece  of  corn  bread, 
the  meal  of  which  contained  also  the  cob,  a  little  rice  soup 
very  rarely,  and  sometimes,  but  rarely,  a  small  quantity  of 
meat — a  few  ounces ;  they  confessed  that  they  had  eaten  dog 
meat  whenever  they  were  so  fortunate  as  to  capture  a  dog. 

In  the  hospitals,  according  to  the  statement  made  to  me 
by  Hospital  Steward  James,  United  States  Army,  they  fared 
a  little  better,  although,  even  there,  they  had  an  insufficiency 
of  food,  and  the  beds  were  filthy  and  covered  with  vermin. 
He  states  that  at  hospital  No.  21,  where  he  was  serving  as 
one  of  the  apothecaries  during  three  months,  January,  Feb 
ruary  and  March,  there  were  admitted  two  thousand  seven 
hundred  of  our  men,  of  whom  nearly  fourteen  hundred  and 
fifty  died.*  They  lacked  medicines  and  all  appliances 


*  The  quarterly  report  from  which  these  figures  are  taken,  was 
obtained  and  brought  home  by  a  returnecVUnion  prisoner.  It  will  be 
found  on  pages  192-3. 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION    PRISONERS  BY   REBELS.      181 

needed  for  the  sick.  The  patients  in  the  hospital  had  one 
advantage  over  prisoners  of  war  on  Belle  Island,  that  was, 
they  were  allowed  to  buy  a  loaf  of  bread  the  size  of  a  man's 
fist,  for  which  they  paid  five  or  six  dollars  Confederate 
money. 

Out  of  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  received  by  me,  so 
far,  fifteen  have  died ;  the  post-mortems  of  which  have  made 
apparent  diseases  of  nearly  all  the  viscera  to  a  remarkable 
extent. 

I  received  one  man  incurably  insane,  caused,  as  I  was 
informed  and  believe,  by  joy,  produced  by  the  news  that  he 
was  to  be  exchanged.  I  found,  from  excess  of  habit,  they 
had  become  like  savages  in  their  habits,  and  lost  the 
decencies  of  life,  and  had  to  be  taught  like  children  the 
decencies  of  society. 

The  health  and  constitutions  of  the  majority  of  these  men 
are  permanently  undermined.  Under  proper  care  and  treat 
ment,  which  consisted  in  their  not  eating  too  much,  a  spare 
but  concentrated  diet,  many  have  rallied.  In  one  instance  a 
boy  gained  forty  pounds  in  two  weeks ;  he  still  has  phthisis 
and  can  hardly  stand  exposure  or  active  exercise.  A  case 
of  scurvy  occurred  among  others  which  is  the  worst  I  ever 
saw  or  read  of;  a  man  turning  red  or  nearly  black  from 
head  to  foot ;  he  died  in  twenty-four  hours. 

I  think  nine-tenths  of  the  men  weighed  under  one  hun 
dred  pounds;  they  appeared  to  be  articulated  skeletons; 
covered  with  simply  integument;  had  dropsy  and  oedema 
in  the  feet,  caused  by  weakness ;  and  were  the  most  pitiable 
objects  to  behold.  They  had  an  incontrollable  appetite. 

DE  WITT  C.  PETEBS, 

Assistant  Surgeon  United  States  Army,  in  charge 
of  Jarvis  Hospital,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


182  APPENDIX. 


Testimony  of  Surgeon  A.  Chapel,  in  charge  of  West's 

Buildings  Hospital,  Baltimore,  Md.,  taken 

at  Baltimore,  June  2,  1864. 

COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT : 

DR.  MOTT,  DR.  DELAFIELD,  JUDGE  HARE. 


Surgeon  A.  CHAPEL,  affirmed  and  examined: — 

I  am  Surgeon  in  charge  of  West's  Buildings  Hospital, 
Baltimore.  On  the  18th  of  April,  1864,  I  received  at  the 
hospital  one  hundred  and  five  of  the  paroled  prisoners  from 
Kichmond,  brought  to  this  point  011  the  flag-of-truce  boat 
"  New  York.'1  These  were  the  worst  cases  received  at  this 
point  by  that  boat ;  none  of  them  being  able  to  stand  alone. 
All  were  brought  into  the  hospital  upon  stretchers. 

Nearly  all  were  in  an  extreme  state  of  emaciation, 'filthy 
in  the  extreme,  and  covered  with  vermin.  Some  of  them 
so  eaten  by  the  vermin  as  to  very  nearly  resemble  a  case  of 
scabbing  from  small -pox,  being  covered  with  sores  from  head 
to  foot,  so  as  scarcely  to  be  able  to  touch  a  well  portion  of 
the  skin  with  the  point  of  the  finger. 

Their  appearance  was  such  in  the  way  of  filth  and  dirt, 
as  to  convince  any  one  that  they  had  not  had  an  opportu 
nity  for  ablution  for  weeks  and  months.  Several  were  in  a 
state  of  semi-insanity,  and  all  seemed,  and  acted,  and  talked, 
like  children,  in  their  desires  for  food,  &c.  Very  few  of 
them  had  blankets  or  clothing  some  in  a  state  of  semi- 
nudity. 

Upon  being  questioned  upon  the  causes  of  their  condi 
tion,  the  testimony  was  universal: — starvation,  exposure, 
and  neglect,  while  prisoners  at  Eichmond  and  Belle  Isle. 


TREATMENT  OF  UNION  PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.      183 

Their  universal  declaration  was,  in  reference  to  their 
living,  that  they  were  provided  with  only  one  small  portion 
of  corn-bread  per  day,  which  was  made  simply  from  corn- 
meal  and  water,  without  salt,  not  larger  than  a  man's  hand ; 
it  was  about  an  inch  and  a  quarter  thick.  This  was  the  por 
tion  for  the  day.  They  sometimes  got  small  portions  of 
meat  once  a  day,  two  days  in  a  week.  Several  of  them  told 
me  that  they  had  been  able  to  get  occasionally  a  small  piece 
of  the  flesh  of  a  dog,  which  they  had  cooked  and  eaten  with 
great  relish,  and  that  they  had  caught  rats  and  eaten  them 
in  the  same  way.  Many  of  them  believed  that  the  meat 
issued  to  them  was  cut  from  the  bodies  of  mules. 

They  said,  while  on  Belle  Isle  they  had  no  means  of 
shelter,  but  were  obliged  to  huddle  together  in  heaps,  to 
protect  themselves  from  the  inclement  weather  ; — often  one 
or  two  blankets  in  thickness  covering  five  or  six  persons ; — 
often  lying  one  upon  another  in  tiers,  and  changing  places 
as  they  became  tired  out.  They  state  that  they  had  little 
or  no  shelter  while  prisoners  at  Belle  Isle. 

We  were  obliged  to  treat  them  as  children,  in  regulating 
their  diet  in  the  hospital,  having  to  restrain  their  over 
eating,  and  confine  them  to  a  concentrated  but  nourishing 
and  generous  diet. 

Several  cases  had  no  disease  whatever,  but  suffered  from 
extreme  emaciation  and  starvation.  The  limb  of  one  of 
these  men  could  be  spanned  with  the  thumb  and  finger,  just 
above  the  knee.  This  patient,  a  boy  of  nineteen  years  old, 
would  not  weigh  over  fifty  pounds  then,  though  in  health 
probably  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  pounds.  This  was 
not  a  solitary  instance,  many  others  being  extremely  ema 
ciated.  Many  presenting  the  appearance  of  mere  living 
skeletons,  with  the  skin  drawn  tightly  over  the  bones. 

Many  of  them  were  laboring  under  such  diseases  as 
dropsy,  pulmonary  consumption,  scurvy,  mortification  from 
cold,  several  having  lost  one-half  of  both  feet  from  this 
cause. 

Several  were  afflicted  with  very  severe  bed-sores,  caused 


184:  APPENDIX. 

bj  lying  in  the  sand  without  shelter.  One  man,  unable  to 
lie  in  any  other  way  but  on  his  face,  and  lived  about  four 
weeks  in  this  way. 

Up  to  the  present  time,  of  the  number  received,  (one  hun 
dred  and  five,)  forty-two  have  died.  All  gave  evidence  of 
extensive  visceral  disease,  of  which  starvation,  cold,  and 
neglect,  were  undoubtedly  the  primary  cause.  Some  of  the 
cases  sank  from  extreme  debility,  without  any  evidence  of 
disease  as  the  cause  of  death. 

A.  CHAPEL, 

Surgeon  U.  S.  A. 

Affirmed  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  zd,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Testimony  of  Miss  D.  L.  Dix,  taken  at  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  June  ist,  1864. 


Miss  D.  L.  Dix,  sworn  and  examined: — 

Last  winter  I  was  at  Annapolis  and  examined  many  hun 
dred  returned  prisoners.  I  inquired  of  these  men  exactly 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  fed  and  treated  on  Belle 
Island,  examined  them  individually,  and  by  sixes  and 
sevens.  I  saw  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  these  men  to 
exaggerats  their  sufferings. 

Inquiring  from  what  causes  they  had  suffered  most 
severely,  whether  rapid  marches,  exposure  to  inclement 
weather,  lack  of  apparel,  or  hunger, — the  answer  was  inva 
riably,  "From  hunger  while  at  Belle  Island."  I  inquired 
the  amount  of  animal  food  allowed  a  day,  when  they  had 
any  at  all ,  t'ney  replied  that  an  iron-bound  bucket,  filled 


TREATMENT   OF  UNION   PRISONERS  BY   REBELS.       1S5 

"with  packed  meat,  was  the  allowance  for  one  hundred  men ; 
the  weight  of  bucket  and  meat  would  be  twenty-five  pounds. 
When  cooked  this  afforded  a  very  small  quantity  for  each 
man. 

As  Winter  and  Spring  advance?!,  the  only  food  sup 
plied  was  corn  meal  mixed  with  water  and  roughly  baked. 
This  bucket"  of  meat  I  speak  of  was  allowed  them  about 
twice  a  week,  with  a  very  little  rice  in  the  autumn.  I 
understand  that  in  the  hospitals  they  occasionally  had  a  little 
boiled  rice,  to  which  was  sometimes  added  a  very  small 
quantity  of  brown  sugar  or  molasses. 

I  gather  from  Confederate  authority  as  well  as  from  our 
returned  prisoners, — and  a  Confederate  official  whose  evi 
dence  cannot  be  questioned  in  that  matter,  declared,  that 
the  sole  sustenance  at  Belle  Island  was  corn  meal  and  water, — 
that  of  the  numbers  remaining  at  Belle  Island,  then  about 
eight  thousand,  about  twenty-five  died  daily ;  that  the  mor 
tality  in  Georgia  was  still  greater,  and  that  it  would  be  but 
a  few  weeks  before  the  deaths  would  count  fifty  a  day. 

Another  fact  which  he  affirmed  as  a  reason  for  with  hold 
ing  so  much  from  our  prisoners,  sent  by  their  friends  and 
the  Government,  was  the  cruel  and  severe  restrictions 
imposed  on  their  men  in  our  hands. 

I  had  visited  those  very  prisoners  to  whom  he  referred 
at  Point  Lookout ;  they  were  supplied  with  vegetables,  with 
the  best  wheat  bread,  and  fresh  or  salt  meat  three  times 
daily,  in  abundant  measure — the  full  Government  ration. 

In  the  camp  of  about  nine  thousand  rebel  prisoners,  there 
were  but  four  hundred  reported  to  the  surgeon ;  of  these^ 
one  hundred  were  confined  to  their  beds,  thirty  were  very 
sick,  and  perhaps  fifteen  or  twenty  would  never  recover. 

The  hospital  food  consisted  of  beef  tea,  beef  soup,  rice, 
milk,  milk  punch,  milk  gruel,  lemonade,  stewed  fruits,  beef 
steak,  vegetables  and  mutton;  white  sugar  was  employed 
in  cooking.  The  supplies  were,  in  fact,  more  ample  and 
abundant  than  in  hospitals  where  on**  own  men  were  under 
treatment. 


186  APPENDIX. 

To  return  to  the  condition  of  the  Federal  prisoners  on 
Belle  Island,  there  was  at  no  time  adequate  shelter  for  the 
entire  number  till  late  in  spring,  when  the  number  had  been 
greatly  reduced  by  transfer  to  Georgia,  exchanges,  and 
death.  * 

I  was  told  that  in  the  morning  it  was  not  uncommon  to 
find  men  dead  from  exposure  and  rain. 

I  have  repeatedly  seen  the  exchanged  prisoners  reduced 
to  the  lowest  extremity  through  want  of  food.  Of  more 
than  four  hundred  landed  in  Baltimore,  some  little  time 
since,  nearly,  if  not  the  entire  number,  were  suffering  from 
the  effects  of  hunger ;  more  than  one  hundred  of  these  were 
takoL  a  few  yards  across  the  wharf,  to  the  hospital,  on 
stretchers ;  seven  died  before  they  could  be  taken  into  the 
building,  and  seven  more  that  same  night.  Their  clothing 
was  filthy  to  the  last  degree ;  they  were  covered  with  ver 
min  ;  they  were  the  merest  bundles  of  bones  and  skin,  and 
some  bones  piercing  the  flesh.  The  cries  of  these  poor  men 
for  food,  were  pitiful  in  the  extreme. 

In  addition  to  their  other  sufferings,  many  had  lost  por 
tions  of  their  feet  by  frost.  The  minds  showed  the  weakness 
of  the  body.  Some  were  reduced  to  idiocy.  They  would 
entreat  for  an  apple  or  a  bit  of  meat  to  look  at,  if  they  could 
not  be  allowed  solid  food.  Many  of  these  poor  creatures 
died,  and  others,  I  understand  from  surgeons,  are  enfeebled 
for  life. 

Many  of  these  prisoners  when  brought  on  the  flag-of-truce 
boat,  were  observed  to  clasp  their  hands  and  fix  their  gaze 
upon  the  American  flag :  "  It  is  enough,  thank  God,  we  are 
at  home."  A  remarkable  trial  of  disinterestedness :  Eev. 
M.  Hall  said,  "  What  can  I  t\>  for  you,  my  boys?"  "Hasten 
exchanges  and  bring  away  our  comrades." 

A  gentleman  of  Washington,  who  had  been  permitted  to 
convey  a  body  for  burial  to  the  South,  on  board  the  flag-of- 
truce  boat,  remarked  that  all  the  rebel  prisoners  were  in 
vigorous  health,  equipped  in  clothes  furnished  by  the 
United  States  Government;  many  of  them  with  blankets 


TREATMENT   OF  UNION   PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.       187 

and  haversacks,  while  we  received  in  return  not  one  able- 
bodied  man  at  that  time.  I  have  witnessed  this  fact  myself, 
on  other  occasions  on  the  flag-of-truce  boats. 

The  rations  served  to  the  prisoners  on  Belle  Island, 
whether  drawn  from  supplies  furnished  by  the  Federal 
Government,  or  through  the  individual  liberality  of  North 
ern  citizens,  were  never  dispensed  in  sufficient  quantities  by 
the  Confederate  authorities  to  satisfy  hunger. 

I  have  seen  tons  of  provisions  shipped  on  the  flag-of-truce 
boat  from  the  North,  for  the  relief  of  our  prisoners  at  Eich- 
mond.  Little  or  nothing  came  from -the  South  for  rebel 
prisoners  at  the  North.  Clothing  and  blankets  were  sent 
by  our  Government  to  the  prisoners  in  quantities,  but  not 
fully  distributed. 

One  reason  why  our  men  were  so  wholly  destitute  of 
,  clothing  at  a  late  season,  was  the  temptation  they  were 
under  to  give  them  away  for  a  biscuit,  or  a  small  quantity 
of  food,  to  save  them  from  starvation. 

D.  L.  DIX. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  i,  i86A. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 

I  certify  that  the  foregoing  testimony  was  taken  and 
reduced  to  writing  in  presence  of  the  respective  witnesses, 
and  by  them  sworn  or  affirmed  to  in  my  presence,  at  the 
times,  places,  and  in  the  manner  set  forth. 

D.  P.  BEOWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


188  APPENDIX. 


Testimony    of  Joseph    B.    Abbott,    Special    Relief 

Agent  United  States  Sanitary  Commission, 

taken  at  Washington,   D.  C., 

June  jrd,   1864. 

COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT : 

ME.  WILKINS,  DR.  WALLACE,  MR.  WALDEN. 


JOSEPH  B.  ABBOTT,  aged  twenty-eight  years,  Agent  off 
Special  Belief  Department,  United  States  Sanitary  Commis 
sion.  Holds  his  commission  as  Chief  Assistant,  Special 
Relief  Department,  United  States  Sanitary  Commission.  Is 
a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  has  been  a  resident  of  North 
Carolina,  resided  in  North  Carolina  nearly  four  years,  prior 
to  the  war.  Has  been  engaged  with  the  United  States 
Sanitary  Commission  since  March  12th,  1862. 

During  the  past  Spring,  since  February,  my  position  has 
given  me  means  of  observation  of  returned  prisoners  from 
Richmond,  Belle  Island,  Danville,  Salisbury,  and  Columbia, 
but  directly  from  Richmond.  I  first  came  in  contact  at 
Fortress  Monroe  with  prisoners  on  flag-of-truce  boats,  from 
City  Point  to  Annapolis.  The  men  had  no  blankets,  but 
what  were  said  to  have  been  furnished  them  at  City  Point 
by  the  United  States  Government.  Yery  few  nad  coats; 
many  had  no  shirts ;  pants,  poor,  ragged  and  dirty ;  clothing 
all  dirty ;  skin  very  filthy,  and  covered  with  vermin.  One 
man  had  convulsions  all  the  time  during  the  trip.  Assistant 
Surgeon  Dr.  Fry  told  me  that  they  werev  caused  by  vermin. 
The  man  was  much  emaciated ;  vermin  very  thick  upon  his 


TREATMENT   OF   UNION   PRISONERS  BY  REBELS.      189 

body — common  body  lice.   He  was  scratching  as  at  lice,  and 
throwing  them  off  him  and  slapping  them  with  his  blanket. 

This  is  a  general  statement  of  all  my  observation. 

My  experience  extended  over  three  boat  loads.  "No  differ 
ence  in  fho  condition  of  the  prisoners'  clothing.  The  condi 
tion  of  the  men  on  the  last  boat  as  to  physical  state,  was 
worse  than  all  previous.  Two  or  three  boat  loads  have 
arrived  since  my  services  ceased.  Mr.  Thompson,  one  of 
the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission  Agents,  accompanied, 
the  men  on  these  boats.  Mr.  Thompson  is  now  at  White 
House,  Virginia,  on  the  Pamunky  river.  Cannot  communi 
cate  with  him  by  telegraph. 

In  general  aspect  and  condition  of  returned  prisoners,  all 
were  more  or  less  emaciated.  Of  the  first  boat  load,  three- 
fifths  very  much  so.  Of  second  and  third  boats,  four-fifths 
very  much  so.  The  condition  of  some  of  those  who  were 
less  emaciated  than  others,  was  owing  to  their  having  money 
with  which  they  purchased  provisions.  I  believe  the  fact 
from  statements  made  by  them  on  my  inquiry.  My  atten  • 
tioa  was  drawn  to  the  fact  by  the  Assistant  Surgeon.  I  could 
pick  out  the  men  that  had  money  by  their  physical  con 
dition. 

Clothing  was  usually  taken  from  them  by  their  captors 
before  their  arrival  at  Eichmond.  Money  was  taken  from 
them  officially  just  before  entering  prison,  except  those  that 
had  succeeded  in  secreting  it.  I  believe  these  facts  from 
statements  made  by  the  men.  They  were  also  credited  with 
the  amounts,  and  were  told  that  when  released  the  amounts 
would  be  returned.  I  heard  of  no  soldier  who  had  it  re 
turned  to  him.  In  case  of  officers  it  was  sometimes  returned 
in  Confederate  currency. 

On  the  first  boat  load  there  was  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  on  cots  sick, — with  diarrhoea  generally:  Many  of  these 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men  had  the  scurvy;  great  man} 
suffering  from  pneumonia.  Often  heard  the  physician  say 
that  these  disorders  were  due  to  confinement,  exposure,  and 
bad  food.  In  all  I  saw  some  ten  or  twelve  dying  on  the 


190  APPENDIX. 

boats.  From  the  last  boat  I  saw  five  come  off  on  shore 
in  a  dying  state.  I  saw  one  man  die  on  the  boat ;  the  Doctor 
said  his  death  was  caused  by  starvation.  Saw  one  already 
dead  on  the  boat  at  Fortress  Monroe.  The  Doctor  said  his 
death  was  caused  by  eating.  He  died  from  eating  too  much 
after  he  had  been  starved.  He  obtained  this  over  amount  of 
food  after  having  come  into  our  hands. 

The  Doctor  said  that  he  had  to  be  very  cautious  in  giving 
them  their  rations,  or  they  would  injure  themselves  by 
getting  too  much ;  that  several  had  died  in  consequence  of 
eatiDg  too  much,  which  they  obtained  from  their  comrades, 
who  were  too  feeble  and  too  far  gone  to  eat  the  rations 
which  were  given  them.  Some  would  secrete  their  rations 
and  try  to  get  a  second  ration.  The  Assistant  Surgeon  told 
me  that  the  one  I  had  seen  dead,  had  eaten  three  rations 
which  he  had  obtained  from  his  comrades. 

The  prisoners  on  board  the  boats  stated  that  their  diseases 
and  sufferings,  such  as  I  witnessed,  were  caused  by  want  of 
protection  from  wet  and  cold,  and  by  insufficient  and  bad 
food ;  this  was  their  invariable  statement 

The  Union  prisoners  were  not  at  all  vindictive,  and  ex 
pressed  a  desire  to  have  the  rebel  prisoners  well  clothed  and 
fed ;  this  was  the  case  with  all  the  men  I  spoke  to  on  the 
subject  on  the  three  boats. 

My  reason  for  making  this  inquiry  was  the  remark  of  the 
Union  prisoners  in  regard  to  the  healthy  condition  of  the 
rebel  prisoners  who  were  exchanged.  Some  of  them  re 
marked  that  it  would  make  the  condition  of  the  Union 
prisoners  worse  if  they  attempted  to  retaliate,  and  would  do 
no  good.  The  general  idea  as  expressed  by  the  men  was, 
that  they  did  not  wish  to  see  the  rebel  prisoners  treated  as 
they  had  been. 

I  have  been  on  the  battle-field  and  in  hospitals  and  wit 
nessed  much  suffering,  but  never  did  I  experience  so  sad 
and  deplorable  a  condition  of  human  beings,  as  that  of  the 
paroled  Union  prisoners  just  from  Belle  Island,  and  the 
rebel  prisons  of  the  South,  emaciated  by  starvation,  with 


TREATMENT   OF    UNION  PRISONERS   BY   REBELS.      191 

impaired  minds,  vision,  powers  of  speech  and  hearing,  oc 
casioned  by  want  of  sufficiency  of  wholesome  food,  exposure 
to  the  cold  and  inclement  storms  of  wind  and  rain.  I  believe 
from  what  I  have  seen  and  experienced  among  our  unfortu 
nate  prisoners  on  board  the  flag-of-truce  boats,  that  their 
barbarous  treatment  and  sufferings  which  they  endured 
while  confined  in  the  military  prisons  of  the  South,  can 
hardly  be  exaggerated. 

J.  B.  ABBOTT. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me  at  Washington, 
D.  C.,  this  3d  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1864. 

M.  H.  K  KENDIG, 

Notary  Public. 


102 


APPENDIX. 


QUARTERLY    REPORT 

Of  the  Hospitals  for  the  Federal  prisoners,  Eichmond,  Va,,  furnished 
by  Surgeon-General,  0,  S,  A.,  April  1, 1864,  Obtained  by  a  paroled 
and  returned  Federal  prisoner, 


DISEASES. 

JANUARY. 

FEBRUARY. 

MARCH. 

1 
Cases. 

Deaths. 

Cases. 

Deaths. 

Cases. 

Deaths. 
a 

5 

Febris  Cont.  Communis..... 
^       ~[n{;  Quart  

5 
6 
4 
10 
18 
11 
14 

3 

23 
20 

1 

10 

20 

"         "    Tertiana  

20 
35 
3 
15 

11 
35 
1 
6 

4 
29 
1 
4 

12 
1 
1 

28 
1 

7 

Variola           )     Convales- 

1  1 

27 
283 
9 
27 
2 

31 
229 
36 
18 
4 

18 
193 
4 
12 
1 

100 
337 
23 
34 
1 
1 

13 
265 
6 
24 

JLo 

250 
3 
20 
1 

"         Clironica             .. 

TTpnntitis  OliVOllica 

4 
4 

2 
1 
3 
7 
1 
46 
45 
1 
35 
2 
8 
10 
207 
1 
1 
1 
1 
3 

1 

4 
4 
3 

o 

3 

Tonsillitis 

3 
1 

7 
16 

1 

21 
20 

1 
1 
6 

i 

Bronchitis  Acuta     - 

12 

50 

3 
39 
[  

Cit'irrhns  Epitlcmicus    

10 

1 

4 

17 
1 
1 

12 
120 

9 

1 

9 

109 

Plitlr's'S  Pulnioiicilis  

6 
9 
G3 

2 
1 
38 

5 
5 
97 

1 
1 

1 
1 
4 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

THtTnns 

2 

Bubo  Sypliiliticurn              •«• 

1 

GonorrlicBa               

5 
1 
1 
2 
2 
6 

1 

1 
6 

4 
1 

Orcliitis           



Sypliilis  Primitiva  

1 

"          Consect  ,  

2      

Anasarca  

4 

7 

2           8 

7 

TREATMENT  OF   UNION  PRISONERS   BY   REBELS.       193 


DISEASES. 

JANUARY. 

FEBRUARY. 

MARCH. 

Cases. 

Deaths. 

Casco. 

Deaths. 

Cases.      Deaths. 

Ascites             

1 

2 

1 

Ilydrotliorax  

1 

12 
14 

11 

40 

2 

23 

I 

"              Chronica  

4 

42 

2 

12 

1 
1 
1 
15 

XJlcus  

4 

1 
6 

1 

1 

20 
1 
15 

"Vulnus  Sclopiticu.ni            .  . 

1 

27 

20 

3 

Otltfs  

4 

107 
2 
6 
7 
1 

23 

17 
1 

33 
6 
9 
17 

21 

2 

JVIorbi  Cutis   

7 

3 

7 

Dry  Gangrene  from  Frozen 
Feet     .      «  

27 

3 

4 

Total  

646 

311 

1252 

524 

881 

561 

2779 
1396 

To'al  Deaths  

A  true  copy. 
A  true  copy. 


(Signed)  A.   R  ROOT, 

Colonel  Commanding,  Camp  Parole. 


B.  A.  VANDERKIEFT, 

Surgeon  U.  S.  Vols.  in  charge  U.  S.  General  Hospital, 
Division  No.  I,  Annapolis,  Md. 

The  Commission  have  received  a  letter  from  Col.  A.  R.  ROOT,  Commanding,  &c.,  stating 
that  he  has  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  authenticity  and  reliableness  of  this  "Quarterly 
Report." 


13 


EVIDENCE 


RELATING   TO 


UNITED    STATES    STATIONS 


FOR 


REBEL   PRISONERS. 


(195) 


TREATMENT   OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  197 


Letter  from  Quartermaster-General,  M.  C.  Meigs, 
United  States  Army. 

QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  July  6th,  1864. 

DR.  ELLERSLIE  WALLACE, 

Philadelphia. 

SIR, — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  of  the  20th  nit.,  in  which,  in  behalf  of  a  Com 
mittee  of  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  you 
make  inquiry  in  relation  to  the  condition  and  treatment  of 
rebel  prisoners  of  war  in  our  hands. 

In  reply,  you  are  respectfully  informed  that  such  pri 
soners  are  treated  with  all  the  consideration  and  kindness 
that  might  be  expected  of  a  humane  and  Christian  people. 
The  rations  allowed  to  them  are  ample  and  of  good  quality. 
The  reduction  recently  made  in  the  prisoner's  ration,  was 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  it  nearer  to  what  the  rebel 
authorities  profess  to  allow  their  soldiers,  and  no  complaint 
lias  been  heard  of  its  insufficiency. 

Suitable  provision  has  been  made  by  the  Government 
for  supplying  the  prisoners  with  all  necessary  clothing  and 
blankets;  and  at  each  depot  there  is  a  sutler,  authorized  to 
sell  to  them,  at  reasonable  rates,  certain  prescribed  articles 
of  comfort  and  convenience,  such  as  our  soldiers  desire  to 
purchase. 

Fuel  is  provided  by  the  army  regulations,  and  is  liber 
ally  furnished. 


198  APPENDIX. 

Shelter  is  not  denied  to  any  "during  the  inclement  and 
cold  season,"  and  for  those  who  require  them,  comfortable 
hospital  accommodations,  and  skillful  medical  and  surgical 
attention  are  provided. 

The  Commissary-General  of  Prisoners  informs  me  that 
he  has  heard  of  no  orders  to  shoot  prisoners  for  being  at 
the  windows  or  near  them,  and  he  does  not  believe  that 
orders  of  that  character  have  any  where  been  given.  He 
has  heard  of  no  prisoners  being  shot  under  such  cir 
cumstances. 

General  Butler  did,  in  the  early  part  of  this  year,  offer  to 
exchange  prisoners,  grade  for  grade,  and  man  for  man,  of 
those  at  Point  Lookout,  and  two  other  places,  but  the  pro 
position  was  not  acceded  to  by  the  rebel  authorities. 

Your  inquiries  are  thus  substantially  answered. 

I  enclose  copies  of  the  orders  of  the  Commissary- General 
of  Prisoners,   regulating  the    conduct    and   treatment   of 
prisoners  of  war,  and  the  rations  they  now  receive.* 
I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

M.  C.  MEIGS, 

Quartermaster-General. 


*  Printed  in  this  Appendix. 


FORT  DELAWARE. 


Testimony  taken  at  Fort  Delaware,  June  2ist,  1864. 

COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT : 
DK.  WALLACE,  JUDGE  HARE. 


Captain  GILBERT  S.  CLARK,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  came  to  this  post  18th  March,  1862,  and  the  Subsistence 
Department  at  this  post  has  been  under  my  charge  since 
May,  1862. 

The  rations  were  as  follow : 

Bread — 18  ounces  per  ration  ;  or, 

Corn  Meal — 20  ounces  per  ration. 

Beef — 1  pound  per  ration ;  or, 

Bacon  or  Pork — |-  pound  per  ration. 

Beans — 8  quarts  per  one  hundred  men ;  or, 

Hominy  or  Eice — 10  pounds  per  one  hundred  men. 

Sugar — 14  pounds  per  one  hundred  men. 

Eio  Coffee — 7  or  9  pounds  per  hundred  men. 

Adamantine  Candles — 5  per  one  hundred  men  ;  or, 

Tallow  Candles — 6  per  one  hundred  men. 

Soap — 4  pounds  per  one  hundred  men, 

Salt — 2  quarts  per  one  hundred  men. 

Molasses — 4  quarts  per  one  hundred  men  twice  per  week. 

Potatoes — 1  pound  per  man,  three  times  per  week. 
When  beans  were  issued,  hominy  or  rice  not  issued. 

These  were  the  rations  to  which  the  prisoners  were 

(199) 


200  APPEXDTX. 

entitled.  Bread  was  issued,  in  point  of  fact,  and  not  corn 
meal.  Fresh  beef  was  issued,  during  this  time,  four  times  a, 
week  AY  hen  we  had  to  give  them  hard  bread  they  received 
a  pound.  When  fresh  beef  was  given,  a  pound  and  a  quarter 
was  given,  and  a  less  proportion  of  salt  meat. 

This  was  done  by  orders  of  the  commanding  officer,  with 
a  view  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  men. 

According  to  instructions  from  the  Commissary-General 
of  Prisoners,  a  fund  was  created  by  selling  all  surplus 
rations,  under  regulations,  and  with  this  fund  were  pur 
chased  vegetables  in  addition  to  the  regular  rations.  The 
order  referred  to,  under  which  this  course  was  adopted,  was 
as  follows : 


CIRCULAR. 


"V.  A  general  fund,  for  the  benefit  of  the  prisoners,  will 
.be  made  by  withholding  from  their  rations  all  that  can  be 
spared  without  inconvenience  to  them,  and  selling  this  sur 
plus,  under  existing  regulations,  to  the  Commissary,  who 
will  hold  the  funds  in  his  hands,  and  be  accountable  for 
them,  subject  to  the  commanding  officer's  order  to  cover 
purchases.  The  purchases  with  the  fund  will  be  made  by 
or  through  the  Quartermaster,  with  the  approval  or  order 
of  the  commanding  officer,  the  bills  being  paid  by  the  Com 
missary,  who  will  keep  an  account  book,  in  which  will  be 
carefully  entered  all  receipts  and  payments,  with  the 
vouchers;  and  he  will  keep  the  commanding  officer  ad 
vised,  from  time  to  time,  of  the  amount  of  this  fund.  At 
the  end  of  the  month  he  will  furnish  the  commanding  offi 
cer  with  an  account  of  the  fund  for  the  month,  showing  the 
receipts  and  disbursements,  which  account  will  be  forwarded 
to  the  Commissary-General  of  Prisoners,  with  the  remarks 
of  the  commanding  officer.  With  this  fund  will  be  pur 
chased  all  such  articles  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  health 


TKEATMENT  OF   EEBEL   PEISONERS.  201 

and  comfort  of  the  prisoners,  and  which  would  otherwise 
have  to  be  purchased  by  the  Government:  among  these 
articles  are  all  table  furniture  and  cooking  utensils,  articles 
for  policing  purposes,  bedticks  and  straw,  the  means  of 
improving  or  enlarging  the  barracks  accommodation,  extra 
pay  to  clerks  who  have  charge  of  the  camp,  post-office,  and 
who  keep  the  accounts  of  moneys  deposited  with  the  com 
manding  officer,  &c.,  &c." 


The  provisions,  according  to  my  return,  actually  issued, 
were  the  same  as  for  the  garrison  troops.  The  rations  detailed 
above  were  the  rations  actually  given  to  the  men.  The 
amount  drawn  on  the  books,  for  their  account,  was  larger — 
and  as  large  as  that  issued  to  the  garrison,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  flour  or  bread,  which  was  eighteen  ounces  instead 
of  twenty-two  ounces.  When  I  say  actually  issued,  I  mean 
when  entered  on  my  returns  as  issued.  The  difference 
between  the  amount  thus  issued,  and  the  amount  given  as 
above,  was  sold  and  converted  into  a  fund  for  the  benefit 
of  the  prisoners,  as  I  have  stated,  according  to  the  order  of 
which  I  have  given  an  extract. 

This  fund  was  expended  and  applied  for  their  use  in  the 
purchase  of  extra  vegetables  and  articles  of  comfort. 

This  course  is  pursued  towards  our  own  troops  in  camp 
and  garrison ;  the  surplus  which  they  do  not  use  being  sold 
for  their  benefit  to  the  Commissary  of  Subsistence,  and 
regularly  entered,  and  the  proceeds  applied  to  their  use. 

The  surplus  rations  sold  for  the  prisoners  were  about  the 
same  as  those  sold  for  the  garrison  at  the  same  time,  show 
ing  that  the  amount  actually  consumed  by  the  prisoners 
was  about  the  same,  per  man,  as  that  consumed  by  the 
garrison.  When  hard  bread  is  issued,  prisoners  not  unfre- 
quently  leave  a  portion  of  it  on  the  table.  A  large  amount 
of  bread  has  been  found  stowed  away  by  them  in  the  bar 
racks.  The  rations  are  precisely  the  same  as  that  used  for 
garrison,  and  of  a  very  good  quality. 


202 


APPENDIX. 


My  expenditures  for  vegetables  alone,  for  the  use  of  tlie 
prisoners,  out  of  the  fund  arising  from  the  sale  of  the  sur 
plus  rations,  amounted,  at  times,  as  high  as  from  $2,000  to 
$3,000  a  month.  For  instance,  I  would  buy  extra  quantities 
of  potatoes  and  onions,  turnips,  cabbage,  pickles,  carrots. 

I  have  frequently  asked  my  overseers  if  the  prisoners 
complained  of  not  having  enough,  and  if  they  did,  to  give 
them  more,  and  to  let  no  man  want,  as  I  could  afford  to  do 
from  the  savings.  During  all  the  time  I  have  been  here,  I 
have  scarcely  heard  a  complaint.  No  material  change  was 
made  in  the  rations  given  to  the  prisoners  till  the  first  of 
this  month,  (June,  '64) ;  since  this  date,  the  following  has 
been  the  ration  given  the  prisoners : 

The  rations  issued  on  the  returns  remained  the  same  as 
before.  The  amount  given  was  reduced  to  the  following 
quantity,  by  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War : 


"  Pork  or  Bacon,  .     . 
Fresh  Beef,    .     .     . 
Flour,  or  Soft  Bread, 
Hard  Bread,     .     .     . 


"B." 

4 
"  KATION  I 

10  ozs.     (in  lieu  of  fresh  beef.) 

14    " 

16    " 

14    "      (in  lieu  of  Flour  or  Soft 

Bread.) 
(in  lieu  of  Flour  or  Bread.) 


to  100  rations. 


Corn  Meal,     .     .     .     .  16    " 
Beans  or  Peas,  .     .     .     12J  Ibs. 
or,  Rice,  or  Hominy,     .    8      " 

Soap, 4      " 

Vinegar, 3    qts. 

Salt, 3}  Ibs. 

Potatoes,  .....     15      " 


Sugar  and  coffee,  or  tea,  will  be  issued  only  to  the  sick 
and  wounded,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  surgeon  in 
charge,  at  the  rate  of  twelve  (12)  pounds  of  sugar ;  five  (5) 


TREATMENT   OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  203 

pounds  of  ground  or  seven  (7)  pounds  of  green  coffee,  or 
one  (1)  pound  of  tea,  to  the  one  hundred  rations.  This 
part  of  the  ration  will  be  allowed  only  for  every  other  day." 


The  difference  between  the  ration  given  and  the  ration 
issued  continues  to  be  sold,  and  the  proceeds  applied  to  the 
benefit  of  the  prisoners,  as  before.  The  consequence  is 
that  the  surplus  fund  for  their  use  is  larger. 

I  refer  to  the  circulars  issued  by  the  War  Department, 
April  20th,  1864,  and  June  1st,  1864,  as  containing  the 
regulations  under  which  I  am  now  acting,  hereto  append 
ed,  marked  "A"  and  "  B." 

The  bread,  as  now  issued,  is  made  one-fifth  of  corn  meal 
and  four-fifths  of  flour.  This  change  was  made  at  the  re 
quest  of  the  prisoners. 

I  use  the  same  quality  of  bread. 

GILBERT  S.   CLARK, 

Captain  and  C.  S.  Vol. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  aist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 

"A." 

"  OFFICE  OF  COMMISSARY-GENERAL  OF  PRISONERS, 
WASHINGTON,  April  20,  1864. 

"  [CIRCULAR.] 

"  By  authority  of  the  War  Department,  the  following  Reg 
ulations  will  be  observed  at  all  stations  where  prisoners  of 
war  and  political  or  State  prisoners  are  held.  These  reg 
ulations  will  supersede  those  issued  from  this  office  July  7, 
1861: 

I.     The  Commanding  Officer  at  each  station  is  held  ac- 


204  APPENDIX. 

countable  for  the  discipline  and  good  order  of  his  command, 
and  for  the  security  of  the  prisoners,  and  will  take  such 
measures,  with  the  means  placed  at  his  disposal,  as  will 
best  secure  these  results.  He  will  divide  the  prisoners  into 
companies,  and  will  cause  written  reports  to  be  made  to 
him  of  their  condition  every  morning,  showing  the  changes 
made  during  the  preceding  twenty-four  hours,  giving  the 
names  of  the  "joined,"  "transferred,"  "deaths,"  &c.  At 
the  end  of  every  month  Commanders  will  send  to  the 
Commissary-General  of  Prisoners  a  Eeturn  of  Prisoners, 
giving  names  and  details  to  explain  "  alterations." ,  If  rolls 
of  "joined"  or  "transferred"  have  been  forwarded  during 
the  month,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  refer  to  them  on  the  re 
turn  according  to  forms  furnished. 

II.  On  the  arrival  of  any  prisoners  at  any  station,  \\ 
careful  comparison  of  them  with  the  rolls  which  accom 
pany  them  will  be  made,  and  all  errors  on  the  rolls  will  bo 
corrected.  "When  no  roll  accompanies  the  prisoners,  on* ) 
will  immediately  be  made  out,  containing  all  the  informa  • 
tion  required,  as  correct  as  can  be,  from  the  statements  of 
prisoners  themselves.  When  the  prisoners  are  citizen?., 
the  town,  county  and  State  from  which  they  come  will  bo 
given  on  the  rolls  under  the  headings — Bank,  Kegiment, 
and  Company.  At  stations  where  prisoners  are  received 
frequently,  and  in  small  parties,  a  list  will  be  furnished 
every  fifth  day — the  last  one  in  the  month  may  be  for  six 
days — of  all  prisoners  received  during  the  preceding  five 
days.  Immediately  on  their  arrival,  prisoners  will  be  re 
quired  to  give  up  all  arms  and  weapons  of  every  descrip 
tion,  of  which  the  Commanding  Officer  will  require  an 
accurate  list  to  be  made.  When  prisoners  are  forwarded 
for  exchange,  duplicate  parole  rolls,  signed  by  the  prison 
ers,  will  be  sent  with  them,  and  an  ordinary  roll  will  be 
sent  to  the  Commissary-General  of  Prisoners.  When  they 
are  transferred  from  one  station  to  another,  an  ordinary  roll 


TREATMENT   OF  EEBEL  PRISONERS.  205 

will  be  sent  with  them,  and  a  copy  of  it  to  the  Commissary- 
General  of  Prisoners.  In  all  cases,  the  officer  charged  with 
conducting  prisoners  will  report  to  the  officer  under  whose 
orders  he  acts,  the  execution  of  his  service,  furnishing  a 
receipt  for  the  prisoners  delivered,  and  accounting  by  name 
for  those  not  delivered  ;  which  report  will  be  forwarded, 
without  delay,  to  the  Commissary- General  of  Prisoners. 

III.  The  hospital  will  be  under  the  immediate  charge 
of  the  senior  Medical  Officer  present,  who  will  be  held  re 
sponsible  to  the  Commanding  Officer  for  its  good  order 
and  the  proper  treatment  of  the  sick.      A  fund  for  this 
hospital  will  be  created  as  for  other  hospitals.     It  will  be 
kept  separate  from  the  fund  of  the  hospital  for  the  troops, 
and  will  be  expended  for  the  objects  specified,  and  in  the 
manner  prescribed  in  paragraph  1212,  Kevised  Eegulations 
for  the  Army  of  1863,  except  that  the  requisition  of  the 
Medical  Officer  in  charge,  and  the  bill  of  purchase,  before 
payment,  shall  be  approved  by  the  Commanding  Officer. 
"When  this  "fund  "  is  sufficiently  large,  it  may  be  expend 
ed  also  for  shirts  and  drawers  for  the  sick,  the  expense  of 
washing  clothes,   articles   for   policing  purposes,   and  all 
articles  and  objects  indispensably  necessary  to  promote  the 
sanitary  condition  of  the  hospital. 

IV.  Surgeons  in  charge  of  hospitals  where  there  are 
prisoners  of  war  will  make  to  the  Commissary- General  of 
Prisoners,  through  the  Commanding  Officer,  semi-monthly 
reports  of  deaths,  giving  names,  rank,  regiment,  and  com 
pany  ;  date  and  place  of  capture ;  date  and  cause  of  death ; 
place  of  interment,  and  No.  of  grave.     Effects  of  deceased 
prisoners  will  be  taken  possession  of  by  the  Commanding 
Officer,  the  money  and  valuables  to  be  reported  to  this 
office,  (see  note  on  blank  reports,)  the  clothing  of  any  value 
to  be  given  to  such  prisoners  as  require  it.     Money  left  by 
deceased  prisoners,  or  accruing  from  the  sale  of  their  effects, 
will  be  placed  in  the  Prison  Fund. 


20G  APPENDIX. 

Y.  A  fund,  to  be  called  "  The  Prison  Fund,"  and  to  be 
applied  in  procuring  such  articles  as  may  be  necessary  for 
the  health  and  convenience  of  the  prisoners,  not  expressly 
provided  for  by  General  Army  Regulations,  1863,  will  be 
made  by  withholding  from  their  rations  such  parts  thereof 
as  can  be  conveniently  dispensed  with.  The  Abstract  of 
Issues  to  Prisoners,  and  Statement  of  the  Prison  Fund, 
shall  be  made  out,  commencing  with  the  month  of  May, 
1864,  in  the  same  manner  as  is  prescribed  for  the  Abstract 
of  Issues  to  Hospital  and  Statement  of  the  Hospital  Fund, 
(see  paragraphs  1209,  1215,  and  1246,  and  Form  5,  Subsist 
ence  Department,  Army  Regulations,  1863,)  with  such 
modifications  in  language  as  may  be  necessary.  The  ration 
for  issue  to  prisoners  will  be  composed  as  follows,  viz : 


Hard  Bread, 

14  oz.  per  one  ration,  or  18 

oz.  Soft 

Bread,  one  ration. 

Corn  Meal, 

18  oz.  per  one  ration. 

Beef, 

^4.  «        "            «•• 

Bacon  or  Pork, 

10  "        "            " 

Beans, 

6  qts.  per  100  men. 

Hominy  or  Rice, 

8  Ibs.     " 

Sugar, 

^4.    <i       «            (i 

R.  Coffee, 

5  Ibs.  ground,  or  7  Ibs  raw, 

per  100 

or 

men. 

Tea, 

18  oz.  per  100  men. 

Soap, 

A     (C               ((                     u 

Adamantine  Candles, 

5  candles  per  100  men. 

Tallow  Candles, 

/?         «        (t            « 

Salt, 

2  qts.           "             " 

Molasses, 

1  qt.             ",            " 

Potatoes, 

30  Ibs. 

"When  beans  are  issued,  hominy  or  rice  will  not  be.  If 
at  any  time  it  should  seem  advisable  to  make  any  change 
in  this  scale,  the  circumstances  will  be  reported  to  the 
Commissary-General  of  Prisoners  for  his  consideration. 


TREATMENT  OF   REBEL  PRISONERS.  207 

VI.  Disbursements  to  be  charged   against  the   Prison 
Fund  will  be  made  by  the  Commissary  of  Subsistence,  on 
the  order  of  the  Commanding  Officer ;  and  all  such  expendi 
tures  of  funds  will  be  accounted  for  by  the  Commissary,  in 
the  manner  prescribed  for  the  disbursements  of  the  Hos 
pital  Fund.    When  in  any  month  the  items  of  expenditures 
on  account  of  the  Prison  Fund  cannot  be  conveniently 
entered  on  the  Abstract  of  Issues  to  Prisoners,  a  list  of  the 
articles  and  quantities  purchased,  prices  paid,  statement  of 
services   rendered,    &c.,  certified   by   the   Commissary   as 
correct,  and  approved  by  the  Commanding   Officer,  will 
accompany  the  Abstract.     In  such  cases  it  will  only  be 
necessary  to  enter  on  the  Abstract  of  Issues   the   total 
amount  of  funds  thus  expended. 

VII.  At  the  end  of  each  calendar  month,  the  Command 
ing  Officer  will  transmit  to  the  Commissary-General  of 
Prisoners  a  copy  of  the  "  Statement  of  the  Prison  Fund," 
as  shown  in  the  Abstract  of  Issues  for  that  month,  with  a 
copy  of  the  list  of  expenditures  specified  in   preceding 
paragraph,  accompanied   by  vouchers,  and   will  endorse 
thereon,  or  convey  in  letter  of  transmittal,  such  remarks  as 
the  matter  may  seem  to  require. 

VIII.  The  Prison  Fund  is  a  credit  with  the  Subsistence 
Department,  and,  at  the  request  of  the  Commissary-General 
of  Prisoners,  may  be  transferred  by  the  Commissary-Gene 
ral  of  Subsistence  in  manner  prescribed  by  existing  Regu 
lations  for  the  transfer  of  Hospital  Fund. 

IX.  With  the  Prison  Fund  may  be  purchased  such  arti 
cles  not  provided  for  by  regulations  as  may  be  necessary 
for  the  health  and  proper  condition  of  the  prisoners,  such 
as  table  furniture,  cooking  utensils,  articles  for  policing, 
straw,  the  means  of  improving  or  enlarging  the  barra  cks  or 
hospitals,  &c.    It  will  also  be  used  to  pay  clerks,  and  other 


208  APPENDIX. 

employees  engaged  in  labors  connected  with  prisoners.  No 
barracks  or  other  structures  will  be  erected  or  enlarged, 
and  no  alterations  made,  without  first  submitting  a  plan 
and  estimate  of  the  cost  to  the  Commissary-General  of 
Prisoners,  to  be  laid  before  the  Secretary  of  War  for  his 
approval ;  and  in  no  case  will  the  services  of  clerks  or  of 
other  employees  be  paid  for  without  the  sanction  of  the 
Commissary-General  of  Prisoners.  Soldiers  employed 
with  such  sanction  will  be  allowed  40  cents  per  day  when 
employed  as  clerks,  stewards,  or  mechanics ;  25  cents  a  day 
wrhen  employed  as  laborers. 

X.  It  is  made  the  duty  of  the  Quartermaster,  or,  when 
there  is  none,  the  Commissary,  under  the  orders  of  the 
Commanding  Officer,  to  procure  all  articles  required  for 
the  prisoners,  and  to  hire  clerks  or  other  employees.     All 
bills  for  service,  or  for  articles  purchased,  will  be  certified 
by  the  Quartermaster,  and  will  be  paid  by  the  Commissary 
on   the  order  of  the  Commanding   Officer,  who  is   held 
responsible  that  all  expenditures  are  for  authorized  pur 
poses. 

XI.  The  Quartermaster  will  be  held  accountable  for  all 
property  purchased  with  the  Prison  Fund,  and  he  will 
make  a  return  of  it  to  the  Commissary-General  of  Prisoners 
at  the  end  of  each  calendar  month,  which  will  show  the 
articles  on  hand  on  the  first  day  of  the  month;  the  articles 
purchased,  issued  and  expended  during  the  month ;  and 
the  articles  remaining  on  hand.     The  return  will  be  sup 
ported  by  abstracts  of  the  articles  purchased,  issued,  and 
expended,  certified  by  the  Quartermaster,  and  approved  by 
the  Commanding  Officer. 

XII.  The  Commanding  Officer  will  cause  requisitions  to 
be  made  by  his  Quartermaster  for  such  clothing  as  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  prisoners,  which  requisition 
will  be  approved  by  him,  after  a  careful  inquiry  as  to  the 


TREATMENT   OF   REBEL  PRISONERS.  209 

necessity,  and  submitted  for  the  approval  of  the  Commis 
sary-General  of  Prisoners.  The  clothiag  will  be  issued  by 
the  Quartermaster  to  the  prisoners,  with  the  assistance  and 
under  the  supervision  of  an  officer  detailed  for  the  pur 
pose,  whose  certificate  that  the  issue  has  been  made  in  his 
presence  will  be  the  Quartermaster's  voucher  for  the  cloth 
ing  issued.  From  the  30th  of  April  to  the  1st  of  October, 
neither  drawers  nor  socks  will  be  allowed,  except  to  the 
sick.  When  army  clothing  is  issued,  buttons  and  trim 
mings  will  be  taken  off  the  coats,  and  the  skirts  will  be  cut 
so  short  that  prisoners  who  wear  them  will  not  be  mis 
taken  for  United  States  soldiers. 

XIII.  The  Sutler  for  the  prisoners  is  entirely  under  the 
control  of  the  Commanding  Officer,  who  will  require  him 
to  furnish  the  prescribed  articles,  and  at  reasonable  rates. 
For  this  privilege  the  Sutler  will  be  taxed  a  small  amount 
by  the  Commanding  Officer,  according  to  the  amount  of  his 
trade,  which  tax  will  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Com 
missary  to  make  part  of  the  Prison  Fund. 

XIY.  All  money  in  possession  of  prisoners,  or  received 
by  them,  will  be  taken  charge  of  by  the  Commanding 
Officer,  who  will  give  receipts  for  it  to  those  to  whom  it 
belongs.  Sales  will  be  made  to  prisoners  by  the  Sutler  on 
orders  on  the  Commanding  Officer,  which  orders  will  be 
kept  as  vouchers  in  the  settlement  of  the  individual 
accounts.  The  Commanding  Officer  will  procure  proper 
books  in  which  to  keep  an  account  of  all  moneys  deposited 
in  his  hands,  these  accounts  to  be  always  subject  to  inspec 
tion  by  the  Commissary -General  of  Prisoners,  or  other  in 
specting  officer.  When  prisoners  are  transferred  from  the 
post,  the  moneys  belonging  to  them,  with  a  statement  of  the 
amount  due  each,  will  be  sent  with  them,  to  be  turned 
over  by  the  officer  in  charge  to  the  officer  to  whom  the 
prisoners  are  delivered,  who  will  give  receipts  for  the 

H 


210  APPENDIX. 

money.    "When  prisoners  are   paroled,  their  money  will 
be  returned  to  them. 

XY.  All  articles  sent  by  friends  to  prisoners,  if  proper  to 
be  delivered,  will  be  carefully  distributed  as  the  donors  may 
request ;  such  as  are  intended  for  the  sick  passing  through 
the  hands  of  the  Surgeon,  who  will  be  responsible  for  their 
proper  use.  Contributions  must  be  received  by  an  officer, 
who  will  be  held  responsible  that  they  are  delivered  to  the 
person  for  whom  they  are  intended.  All  uniform  clothing, 
boots,  or  equipments  of  any  kind  for  military  service, 
weapons  of  all  kinds,  and  intoxicating  liquors,  including 
malt  liquors,  are  among  the  contraband  articles.  The 
material  for  outer  clothing  should  be  gray,  or  some  dark 
mixed  color,  and  of  inferior  quality.  Any  excess  of 
clothing,  over  what  is  required  for  immediate  use,  is  con 
traband. 

/ 

XYI.  When  prisoners  are  seriously  ill,  their  nearest 
relatives,  being  loyal,  may  be  permitted  to  make  them 
short  visits ;  but  under  no  other  circumstances  will  visitors 
be  admitted  without  the  authority  of  the  Commissary-Gen 
eral  of  Prisoners.  At  those  places  where  the  guard  is 
inside  the  enclosure,  persons  having  official  business  to 
transact  with  the  Commander  or  other  officer,  will  be 
admitted  for  such  purposes,  but  will  not  be  allowed  to 
have  any  communication  with  the  prisoners. 

XVII.  Prisoners  will  be  permitted  to  write  and  to  re 
ceive  letters,  not  to  exceed   one  page  of  common  letter 
paper  each,  provided  the  matter  is  strictly  of  a  private 
nature.     Such  letters  must  be  examined  by  a  reliable  non 
commissioned  officer,  appointed  for  that   purpose  by  the 
Commanding  Officer,  before  they  are  forwarded  or  deliv 
ered  to  the  prisoners. 

XVIII.  Prisoners  who  have  been  reported  to  the  Com- 


TEEATMENT  OF  EEBEL  PEISONEES.  211 

missary-General  of  Prisoners,  will  not  be  paroled  or  released 
except  by  authority  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

W.  HOFFMAN, 

Colonel  3d  Infantry,  Commissary-General  of  Prisoners. 

Official: 

W.  T.  HAET, 

Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

S.  E.  CKAIGE  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  have  been  Quartermaster  here  since  August,  1863. 
The  amount  of  clothing  issued  to  the  prisoners  from  Sep 
tember  1st,  1863,  to  May  1st,  1864,  by  the  Quartermaster's 
Department,  will  appear  from  the  following  statement  pre 
pared  by  me  from  the  books : 

QUAETEEMASTEE'S  OFFICE,  FOET  DELAWAEE, 

June  21st,  1864. 
CAPT.  S.  E.  CEAIGE, 

A.  Q.  M.  Vols. 

Statement  of  Clothing  issued  to  Prisoners  of  War,  from 
Sept.  1st,  1863,  to  May  1st,  1864 : 

7175  Pairs  Drawers,  (Canton  flannel.) 

6260  Shirts,  (Flannel.) 

8807  Pairs  Woolen  Stockings. 

1094  Jackets  and  Coats. 

3480  Pairs  Bootees. 

1310  Pairs  Trowsers. 

4378  Woolen  Blankets. 

2680  Great  Coats. 

The  principal  part  of  the  clothing  was  issued  in  October 
and  November,  1863,  and  every  prisoner  not  having  an 
overcoat  and  blanket  of  his  own,  was  provided  with  one. 

All  that  were  in  want  of  clothing  received  it. 
The  barracks  were  kept  comfortable  by  stoves;  no  stint 
in  fuel  that  I  know  of ;  the  attendants  kept  the  fires  up. 


212  APPENDIX. 

Three  hundred  tons  of  coal  provided  by  me,  were  consumed 
by  the  prisoners  in  the  winter  and  spring.  This,  in  addition 
to  wood  used  for  baking,  and  to  the  coal  supplied  by  Capt. 
Clark.  I  am  satisfied  the  prisoners  were  as  comfortable  as 
could  be. 

S.  E.  CRAIGE, 

Captain  and  A.  Q.  M. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  aist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Captain  G.  S.  CLARKE,  recalled: — 

I  have  purchased  and  used  for  the  prisoners  about  one 
thousand  tons  of  coal  during  the  winter.  I  would  say  in 
my  judgment,  that  the  barracks  were  sufficiently  warm 
during  the  season  requiring  fires.  I  was  Quartermaster 
here,  as  well  as  Commissary,  until  Capt.  Craige  assumed 
the  Quartermaster's  Department. 

The  destitute  prisoners  were  supplied  with  sufficient 
clothing  during  the  time  I  acted  as  Quartermaster. 

GILBERT  S.  CLARK. 

Attest : 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Captain  GEORGE  "W.  AHL,  sworn  and  examined: — 

My  rank  is  Captain,  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General 
for  about  six  months,  and  Commissary  of  Prisoners  for 
about  a  year  and  a  half. 

Q.  Can  you  state  whether  the  rations  issued  to  prisoners 
at  this  post  were  actually  given  them  in  full  ? 

A.  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief  they  were. 

Q.  Were  the  rations  issued  sufficient  for  their  subsistence  ? 


TREATMENT  OF  REBEL  PRISONERS.  213 

had  they  at  any  time  saved  any  rations,  and  was  there  any 
waste  of  their  rations  at  any  time  ? 

A.  The  rations  issued  to  them  were  at  all  times  sufficient 
for  their  subsistence ;  and  sometimes  greatly  in  excess  of 
what  they  could  eat.  In  policing  their  barracks  sometime 
ago  we  tore  up  the  lower  bunk  boards,  under  which  we 
found  about  eight  (8)  barrels  of  hard  bread  and  meat,  which 
they  had  secreted  there,  because  there  was  more  than  they 
could  eat.  At  that  time  we  had  only  about  three  thousand 
prisoners  here. 

According  to  official  monthly  reports  made  to  the  Com 
missary-General  of  prisoners,  there  were  at  this  post  in 
July,  1863,  8,982  prisoners,  of  whom  111  died  during  the 
month. 

August,       1863,  8,822  prisoners,  of  whom  169  died. 

September,  1863,  6,490  "  "  327  " 

October,       1863,2,987  "  "  377  " 

November,  1863,  2,822  "  "  156  " 

December,  1863,  2,765  "  "  82  « 

January       1864,2,600  u  "  78  " 

February,    1864,2,655  "  "  42  " 

March,        1864,5,712  "  "  62  " 

April,         1864,  6,149  "  "  74  " 

May,            1864,8,126  "  "  62  " 

ToJune21,  1864,  8,536  "  "  42  " 

The  greater  mortality  during  the  summer  and  fall  months 
of  1863,  was  attributable  to  the  following  causes:  Small 
pox  ;  the  majority  of  the  prisoners  not  having  been  vacci 
nated  before  they  came  here,  and  those  who  were  vacci 
nated  had  been  vaccinated  with  impure  matter;  at  all 
events,  the  vaccination  resulted  in  breaking  out  over  their 
body  in  sores ;  and  from  the  prostrated  condition  of  the 
prisoners  from  Yicksburg,  a  great  many  of  whom  had  to  be 
carried,  on  their  arrival  here,  from  the  boat  to  the  hospital, 
and  many  of  whom  represented  that  they  had  been  limited 
to  half  and  quarter  rations  of  an  inferior  quality  during  the 


214  APPENDIX. 

siege  of  Vicksburg.  Many  died  also  from  wounds  received 
in  different  engagements.  Many,  when  brought  here,  were 
suffering  from  chronic  diarrhoea  and  other  diseases.  The 
general  effect  of  our  treatment  of  the  prisoners  at  this  post 
has  resulted  in  great  benefit  to  their  physical  condition.  In 
reference  to  vaccination,  being  desirous  of  obtaining  the 
true  cause  of  its  bad  effects  on  their  system,  I  inquired  of 
them  (the  prisoners)  the  cause  of  it ;  they  stated  that  they 
had  been  vaccinated  by  their  own  men  with  impure  matter. 

GEORGE  W.  AHL, 

Captain  and  A.  A.  A.  G.  and  Commissary  of  Prisoners. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  zist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

U.  S.  Commissioner. 

Lieutenant  A.  G.  WOLF,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am  a  Lieutenant  in  charge  of  prisoners  at  Fort  Dela 
ware;  have  been  here  since  23d  September,  1862;  have 
had  charge  of  the  prisoners  about  eight  months. 

The  order  is  that  the  men  shall  be  sent  out  every  day  for 
air.  The  barracks  are  then  entirely  cleansed  out.  At  one 
time  we  turned  the  prisoners  out,  and  found  enough  of 
crackers  to  have  paved  the  barracks  two  crackers  deep, 
and  they  are  an  average  of  five  hundred  feet.  They  had 
stowed  and  concealed  them  away  in  various  places.  As  a 
general  thing,  when  the  barracks  were  cleaned  out,  there 
were  always  a  number  of  rations,  bread  and  meat,  found 
stowed  away.  "We  have  always  found  a  quantity  of  blan 
kets  and  clothing  stowed  away  under  the  floor  during  the 
winter  season.  We  have  allowed  men  two  blankets  a  piece, 
and  when  they  were  delicate,  three  blankets  and  an  over 
coat. 

They  are  allowed  to  bathe  in  the  river  twice  a  week. 
We  have  to  take  a  guard  to  get  some  of  them  to  go  out  to 
bathe.  We  issue  a  regular  prisoner's  ration  of  soap ;  wo 


TREATMENT   OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  215 

have  found  as  much  as  ten  pounds  secreted  in  their  haver 
sacks. 

They  had  five  stoves  within  five  hundred  feet  during 
winter,  and  were  warm  enough  in  their  barracks. 

There  has  never  been  an  order  to  fire  at  any  man  look 
ing  out  the  windows,  and  no  man  has  ever  been  fired  at  for 
looking  out ;  there  have  been  five  men  shot ;  three  killed  „ 
and  two  wounded  here,  since  this  has  been  a  prison.  One 
killed  while  in  the  river  making  his  escape,  about  one  hun 
dred  yards  from  the  shore,  at  night ;  one  killed  for  attempt 
ing  to  climb  over  the  fence  towards  the  river ;  one  man  was 
wounded — he  died  since — for  committing  a  nuisance  on  the 
bank  contrary  to  rule,  and  was  ordered  by  the  sentry  to 
stop.  He  called  the  sentry  "  a  Yankee  son  of  a  bitch,"  and 
would  not  stop.  The  ball  wounded  two  men.  The  other 
one  said  that  he  deserved  all  he  got.  Another  was  killed 
accidentally,  by  the  sentry  shooting  at  one  who  was  com 
mitting  a  nuisance,  and  who  would  not  obey  the  order. 
These  orders  are  to  prevent  nuisances  occurring  in  the 
barracks,  which  would  be  destructive  of  health  and  cleanli 
ness.  Even  with  these  rules,  nuisances  are  not  unfrequently 
committed. 

Special  orders  No.  157  are  the  same  as  those  I  refer  to, 
and  are  as  follow : 


SPECIAL  ORDER  No.  157. 

HEADQUARTERS,  FORT  DELAWARE, 
June  1,  1864 

The  officer  of  the  Guard  must  read  and  explain  these 
orders  to  each  relief  of  his  Guard  regularly  before  having 
it  posted. 

I.  No  sentinel  must  communicate  with  nor  allow  any 
person  to  communicate  with  any  of  the  prisoners,  nor  per 
mit  any  of  the  prisoners  to  go  outside  of  the  limits  of  their 


216  APPENDIX. 

barracks,   without   the    permission   of   the    Commanding 
General  or  the  officers  in  charge  of  the  prisoners. 

II.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  sentinel  to  prevent  the  prisoners 
from  escaping,  or  cutting,  defacing  or  in  any  way  damaging 
any  of  the   Government  property,  or  from  committing  any 
"Nuisance"  in  or  about  their  barracks,  or  from   using  any 
abusive  or  insolent  LANGUAGE  towards  them,  and  from  any 
violation  of  good  order. 

Should  the  sentinel  detect  any  prisoner  in  violating 
these  instructions,  he  must  order  him  three  distinct  times  to 
halt !  and  if  the  prisoner  obeys  the  order,  the  sentinel  must 
call  for  the  Corporal  of  the  Guard,  and  have  the  prisoner 
placed  in  arrest — but  should  the  prisoner  fail  to  halt,  when 
so  ordered,  the  sentinel  must  enforce  his  order  by  bayonet  or 
ball 

III.  The  sentinels  are  required  to  exercise  the  utmost 
vigilance,  and  to  exact  from  prisoners  a  strict  compliance 
with  these  instructions,  and  must  always  be  duly  impressed 
with  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  responsibility. 

By  command  of  BRIG.-GEN'L  SCHOEPF. 

(Signed)  GEO.  W.  AHL, 

Captain  and  A.  A.  A.  G. 

They  exist  in  all  prisons. 

A.  G.  WOLF, 

Lieutenant  and  Commissary  of  Prisoners. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  aist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


TREATMENT  OF  REBEL   PRISONERS.  217 

Surgeon  H.  E.  SILLIMAN,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  have  been  in  charge  here  as  Surgeon-in-Charge  of  the 
books  since  July,  1863.  The  condition  of  the  prisoners, 
upon  arriving  here,  was  that  generally  of  men  suffering 
from  over-exertion  and  bad  diet;  chronic  diarrhoea  and 
scurvy  prevalent  among  them ;  they  improved  very  mate- ' 
rially  shortly  after  their  arrival  here. 

The  sanitary  conditions  here  were  such  as  to  be  condu 
cive  to  their  health.  Prisoners  who  arrived  here  from 
Yicksburg  and  the  Mississippi  Valley  were  laboring  under 
miasmatic  influences,  under  which  a  great  number  of  them 
died.  From  their  condition,  I  should  judge  they  had  been 
on  a  diet  of  salt  meat.  Some  of  the  men  arrived  here  in  a 
good  condition  of  health.  The  men  from  Gettysburg  were 
generally  in  good  health,  though  they  soon  broke  down, 
showing  the  effect  of  their  violent  exertions ;  they  rallied 
again  under  good  food  and  good  clothing.  The  condition 
of  the  men  brought  here  within  the  last  few  months, 
captured  in  Virginia,  has  been  better  than  that  of  those 
brought  here  heretofore.  A  large  number  of  the  men  had 
never  been  vaccinated,  and  many  others  imperfectly  so. 
The  scars  were  imperfect,  in  my  judgment.  They  vacci 
nated  themselves  in  the  barracks  with  pen-knives,  after 
their  arrival  here,  producing  diseases  of  the  blood  and 
skin.  In  my  experience,  the  proportion  of  the  unvacci- 
nated  men,  among  the  prisoners,  is  far  greater  than  in  our 
own  army,  for  I  have  never  known  of  an  unvaccinated 
man  in  our  army. 

I  consider  the  amount  of  food  and  clothing  allowed  to 
prisoners  here,  during  the  past  winter,  reasonably  sufficient 
for  the  preservation  nf  life  and  health. 

I  don't  know  of  any  man  who  has  suffered  from  a  wanl 
of^bod  or  clothing,  and  unable  to  procure  them,  on  propel 
representations. 

I  do  know  of  one  man  who  was  brought  into  the  hospital 
last  winter,  during  a  severe  spell,  severely  frost-bitten.  I 


218  APPENDIX. 

don't  know  how  this  occurred.     This  is  the  only  instance 
that  has  come  to  my  knowledge. 

The  men  sent  away  from  here  were  sometimes  sick  and 
sometimes  well ;  they  were  in  general  well ;  and  the  physi 
cal  condition  of  the  well  men  was  good.  The  sick  were 
sent  away  under  special  orders,  going  as  sick. 

The  order  was  from  Surgeon-General  Hammond ;  it  was 
not  an  order  to  send  away  any  who  could  not  bear  the 
journey ;  it  was  left  to  my  discretion  who  to  send  away, 
and  I  sent  none  who  I  believed  would  die  on  the  passage ; 
I  was  careful  about  that.  ( 

I  think  the  treatment  of  the  sick  prisoners  here  is  equal 
to  the  treatment  of  our  own  sick  men  anywhere. 

I  expend  as  much  as  $1,700  per  month,  saved  from  the 
surplus  rations,  on  delicacies  for  the  sick. 

H.  E.  SILLIMAN, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  2ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JK., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


Lieutenant  A.  G.  WOLF,  recalled: — 

I  am  acquainted  with  the  case  of  frost-bite  spoken  of  by 
Dr.  Silliman.  The  prisoners  reported  to  me  that  the  man 
was  taken  with  cramps  in  the  barracks ;  they  exposed  his 
person  and  rubbed  him  to  ease  the  pain,  and  found  that 
they  could  do  no  good,  and  then  brought  him  to  the  hospi 
tal  in  that  condition  of  exposure.  I  attributed  the  frost 
bite  to  these  circumstances. 

A.  G.  WOLF, 

Lieutenant  and  Commanding  Prison. 

Attest,  % 

D,  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


TREATMENT  OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  219 

Surgeon  COLIN  ARROTT;  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am  acting  assistant-surgeon  at  this  place ;  have  been 
here  over  two  years.  When  I  first  came  here  the  water 
used  for  drinking  was  rain  water ;  and  after  I  came  here 
the  water  was  brought  from  the  Brandy  wine,  in  casks,  by 
sloops.  I  cautioned  all  the  prisoners  that  came  here  against 
drinking  the  water  of  the  Island,  as  it  was  unhealthy.  They 
would  frequently  persist  in  doing  it,  although  there  was 
fresh  water  provided  for  them.  They  did  this  to  save  them 
selves  from  the  trouble  of  going  about  a  hundred  yards  for 
fresh  water.  They  would  dig  little  wells  for  the  water,  a 
.few  inches  deep;  I  think  that  water  produced  sickness, 
though  I  frequently  cautioned  them,  and  at  different  times. 
This  was  two  years  ago. 

For  a  year  the  water  has  been  brought  here  in  large 
quantities  by  boats.  There  are  30,000  gallons  of  water 
brought  here  now  a  day,  besides  what  rain  water  is  caught. 
There  is  now,  and  always  has  been,  as  far  as  I  know,  a  full 
supply  of  water  on  the  Island. 

COLIN  AKROTT, 

Acting  Assistant  Surgeon. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  zist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


I  certify  that  the  foregoing  testimony,  taken  at  Fort  Del 
aware,  June  21st,  1864,  was  taken  and  reduced  to  writing 
by  me,  in  the  presence  of  the  respective  witnesses  and  by 
them  sworn  to  and  subscribed  in  my  presence,  at  the  time 
and  in  the  manner  set  forth. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

U.  S.  Commissioner* 


220  APPENDIX. 


DAVID'S  ISLAND,  NEW  YORK. 


Testimony  taken  at  De  Camp  General  Hospital,  U, 
S.  A.,  David's  Island,  June  i6th,  1864. 


COMMISSIONER  PRESENT : 
MB.  WILKINS. 


Deposition  of  AUGUSTUS  VAN  COKTLANDT,  Acting  Assistant 
Surgeon  U.  S.  A. 

I  was  on  duty  in  this  hospital  when  the  last  load  of  rebel 
prisoners  arrived,  during  the  latter  part  of  July,  1863. 
Some  were  lodged  in  pavilions,  and  some  in  tents,  which 
were  in  excellent  order. 

The  prisoners  had  not  been  robbed  or  deprived  of  any 
of  their  private  property,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  extends; 
on  the  contrary,  the  majority  of  patients  under  my  charge 
possessed  money,  brought  with  them  from  the  South  to  the 
hospital,  and  were  never  deprived  of  it. 

They  came  in  a  filthy,  horrible  condition.  Their  dirty 
garments  were  removed  and  burned,  and  new  hospital  cloth 
ing  furnished  them  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  Gov 
ernment,  after  they  had  been  thoroughly  cleansed  and 
washed. 

Their  physical  condition  was  bad  in  the  extreme  when 
they  arrived;  they  were  run  down,  and  were  the  worst 
body  of  wounded  men  it  has  ever  been  my  lot  to  see. 

I  had  ten  tents  under  my  charge,  which  contained  ninety 


TREATMENT   OF   REBEL  PRISONERS.  221 

four  rebel  patients  and  nurses.  The  tents  were  twenty-eight 
by  fifteen  feet.  The  pavilions  were  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  feet  in  length,  twenty-three  feet  in  breadth,  and  twelve 
feet  in  height  to  the  plate,  and  contained  not  more  than 
eighty  patients. 

During  the  ensuing  cold  weather  the  prisoners  were  re 
moved  to  the  pavilions,  and  had  all  necessary  fuel  and 
warm  clothing.  I  have  never  heard  of  any  of  the  prisoners 
suffering  from  cold  or  exposure,  so  as  to  require  medical 
treatment,  nor  of  any  having  been  frozen  to  death. 

They  were  allowed,  for  exercise  and  recreation,  the  whole 
island  inside  of  the  line  of  sentries,  having  the  same  liberty, 
rations,  diet  and  medical  treatment,  as  the  Federal  sick  and 
wounded  have  always  had. 

No  rebel  prisoners  were  ever  fired  upon,  shot,  or  wounded, 
when  on  the  Island,  from  any  apprehension  of  their  escap 
ing,  or  from  any  other  cause. 

The  supply  of  drinking  water  was  of  a  good  quality  and 
abundant;  and  ice  was  supplied  with  liberal  profusion,  and 
sufficiency  of  water  for  washing,  with  plentiful  allowances 
of  soap,  as  well  as  combs,  for  their  own  private  use. 

The  physical  condition  of  the  rebel  prisoners,  upon  leav 
ing  the  island,  was  very  good,  except  a  few  cases  of  unhealed 
wounds. 

AUG.  VAN  COETLANDT,  M.  D. 

Sworn  to  before  me, 

WARREN  WEBSTER, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.,  in  charge  of  Hospital. 


222  APPENDIX. 

Deposition  of  GEORGE  W.  EDWARDS;  Acting  Assistant  Sur 
geon  U.  S.  A. 

I  was  stationed  at  this  hospital  when  the  rebel  prisoners 
arrived,  about  the  middle  of  July,  1863.  They  were  placed 
in  tents  and  pavilions,  which  had  just  been  vacated  by  Union 
soldiers  to  make  room  for  them.  The  dimensions  of  the 
tents  were  twenty-eight  feet  by  fifteen  feet ;  the  pavilions 
were  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  feet  in  length,  twenty- 
three  feet  in  breadth,  and  twelve  feet  in  height  to  the  plate ; 
not  sealed  over,  and  with  numerous  ventilators  on  the 
ridges.  The  tents  were  arranged  to  contain  ten  patients 
each,  the  pavilions  to  contain  eighty;  the  number  of  pa 
tients  never  exceeded  these  numbers  in  either. 

The  prisoners  had  not  been  robbed  by  our  men,  as  most 
of  them  had  money,  some  had  gold,  greenbacks,  and  Con 
federate  paper. 

They  were  in  rags,  barefooted  and  bareheaded  when 
they  came,  were  frightfully  filthy,  and  covered  with  vermin. 
Within  three  or  four  hours  after  their  arrival,  they  had  all 
been  stripped  of  their  rags,  washed,  and  after  being  sup 
plied  with  clean  linen,  placed  in  clean  and  well-aired  beds. 

Full  suits  of  clothing,  consisting  of  coats,  pants,  drawers, 
shirts,  shoes  aud  stockings,  were  subsequently  issued  to 
them  by  the  United  States  Quartermaster.  To  distinguish 
them  from  our  own  soldiers,  the  buttons  and  six  inches  of 
the  skirt  of  the  coat  were  cut  off. 

Those  who  remained  during  the  cold  weather  were 
abundantly  supplied  with  fuel  and  warm  clothing,  and  none 
required  medical  or  surgical  treatment  in  consequence  of 
exposure  to  the  cold ;  none  were  frozen  to  death. 

They  were  allowed  to  go  fishing  or  clamming,  as  they 
pleased,  when  they  first  came,  till  several  escaped,  when  a 
line  of  sentinels  was  placed  around  the  island  upon  the 
beach,,  inside  of  which  they  enjoyed  all  the  privileges  al 
lowed  to  the  Federal  patients  in  the  hospital. 

None  of  the  rebels  were  ever  shot  at,  wounded  or  killed 
in  any  way  while  upon  the  island. 


TREATMENT  OF  EEBEL   PRISONERS.  223 

They  receive  medical  and  surgical  treatment  in  all  re 
spects  equal  to  that  of  Union  soldiers.  Nine-tenths  of  them 
were  suffering  from  wounds.  The  mortality  was  not  large, 
most  of  the  deaths  occurring  from  the  severity  of  the 
wounds.  They  received  the  same  rations  and  diet  as  our 
own  patients. 

The  paper  hereto  attached,  marked  (A,)*  formed  the  Diet 
Table  during  the  time  which  the  rebel  prisoners  were  on  the 
island.  They  had  an  abundance  of  good  drinking  water, 
with  ice,  an  unlimited  supply  for  bathing,  plenty  of  soap, 
towels,  combs,  &c.,  &c.,  for  their  own  comfort  and  cleanliness. 

When  the  prisoners  were  removed,  they  were  in  excel 
lent  bodily  condition,  though  many  had  not  entirely 
recovered  from  their  wounds  ;  the  majority  of  the  prisoners 
left  the  island  during  the  month  of  October,  1863.  At  one 
time  there  were  about  two  thousand  five  hundred  rebel 
prisoners  upon  the  island. 

I  have  been  upon  the  medical  staff  of  this  hospital  since 
its  opening,  in  May,  1862,  and  it  has  been  occupied  by  Union 
patients,  both  prior  and  subsequent  to  its  occupation  by 
rebel  prisoners. 

G.  W.  EDWARDS. 

Sworn  to  before  me. 

WARREN  WEBSTER, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.,  in  charge  of  Hospital. 


DE  CAMP  GENERAL  HOSPITAL, 
DAVID'S  ISLAND,  NEW  YORK. 
June  11th,  1864 

We,  the  undersigned,  Acting  Assistant  Surgeons  U.  S.  A., 
employed  in  De  Camp  General  Hospital,  depose  and  say, 
that  we  have  heard  read  the  depositions  of  Augustus  Yan 
Cortland  and  George  W.  Edwards,  Acting  Assistant  Sur- 


*  The  paper  (A)  here  referred  to,  is  the  "  DIET  TABLE  FOR  GENERAL 
HOSPITALS,  UNITED  STATES  ARMY." 


224  APPENDIX. 

geons  U.  S.  A.,  of  tMs  date,  and  from  our  personal  knowl 
edge  and  actual  experience  confirm  all  that  the  said  afnda 
vits  set  forth  as  to  the  treatment  of  rebels,  sick  and  wounded, 
during  their  confinement  in  this  hospital. 

We  further  depose  that  we  have  been  members  of  the 
Medical  Staff  in  this  hospital,  during,  and  subsequent  to  its 
occupation  by  rebel  prisoners. 

The  Medical  Staff  numbered  twenty-three  Acting  Assist 
ant  Surgeons,  while  the  prisoners  were  on  the  island. 

We  would  further  depose  that  there  were  ample  provi 
sions  of  nurses ;  one  nurse  to  every  ten  patients  in  the  hos 
pitals  ;  and  that  the  following  provisions  were  made  for  the 
calls  of  nature :  each  pavilion  was  furnished  with  from  two 
to  four  water-closets,  and  chairs  and  bed-pans  were  furnished 
for  patients  unable  to  reach  the  water-closet.  The  tents 
were  furnished  with  bed-pans  and  chairs.  Ample  structures 
were  made  upon  the  beach  for  those  able  to  walk. 

JOHN  HOWE,  M.  D.,  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon,  U.  S.  A., 
further  deposes  and  says,  that  on  or  about  the  first  day  of 
August  1863,  while  attending  his  duties  in  Pavilion  14. 

there  was  then  and  there  present,  the  Rev. Brooks, 

Alabama  Chaplain  in  the  Confederate  service,  and  prisoner 
of  war,  who  addressed  the  rebel  prisoners  and  said  to  them, 
"  Well,  boys,  keep  up  your  spirits,  for  you  are  getting  a  great 
deal  better  treatment  here,  than  you  would  get  at  home." 

JOHN  HOWE,  M.  D., 

Acting  Assistant  Surgeon,  U.  S.  A. 

WILLIAM  BADGEK, 
GEORGE  BADGER, 
A.  1ST.  BROCKWAY, 
WM.  C.  FRYER. 

Sworn  to  before  me, 

WARREN  WEBSTER, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.,  in  Charge  of  Hospital. 


TREATMENT   OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  225 

Deposition  of  the  Rev.  ROBERT  LOWRY,  Chaplain,  U.  S.  A. 

Minister  of  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  Diocese  of  New 

York,  under  Bishop  Potter. 

Entered  upon  my  duties  here  4th  July,  1862,  and  have 
continued  here  until  this  time. 

In  my  intercourse  with  the  prisoners,  I  was  guided  sys 
tematically  by  the  same  rules  with  which  I  visited  Union 
soldiers.  The  prisoners  were  equally  well  lodged  with  our 
own  men.  I  remarked  at  the  time  of  their  arrival  how  neat 
and  comfortable  a  provision  had  been  made  in  the  tents  and 
pavilions  for  their  comfort,  with  an  ample  supply  of  beds 
and  bedding. 

I  met  the  first  transport  at  Philadelphia,  and  returned  on 
the  same  with  them  to  David's  Island.  The  prisoners  were 
in  a  most  filthy  condition,  miserably  clad,  and  covered  with 
vermin.  Each  man  received  a  bath  and  was  immediately 
furnished  with  clean  clothing,  the  old  clothing  being  re 
moved  and  burned.  In  the  prosecution  of  my  duties  I  was 
frequently  present  at  their  dinners,  which  were  ample, 
superior,  both  as  respects  quantity  and  quality,  to  anything 
I  have  ever  seen  in  hospital  diet.  The  diet  furnished  to 
them  was  superior  even  to  that  of  our  own  patients.  This 
resulted  from  the  fact  that  many  little  luxuries  were  fur 
nished  by  private  donation.  There  were  other  comforts 
and  conveniences  afforded  them  beyond  those  of  food, 
clothing,  and  shelter. 

A  library  of  two  thousand  volumes,  that  had  been  pre 
viously  used  by  our  own  soldiers,  was  at  once  thrown  open 
to  them,  and  every  facility  afforded  for  the  use  of  the 
volumes.  Being  present  as  librarian,  and  taking  each 
man's  name  as  he  received  his  book,  the  library  was  used 
by  them  far  more  than  by  our  own  people.  As  had  been 
my  practice,  I  went  through  the  tents  and  pavilions  with 
bibles  and  prayer  books,  making  the  special  inquiry  to 
every  man,  "  Are  you  supplied  ?"  And  furnishing  books  in 
all  cases  where  they  were  required. 

Religious  services  were  held  in  the  chapel  twice  every 

lo 


226  APPENDIX. 

Sunday,  and  two  or  three  times  during  the  week,  at  which 
they  were  invited  to  be  present,  and  attended  in  such  num 
bers  that  the  chapel  was  always  crowded,  the  capacity  of  the 
chapel  being  three  hundred,  and  on  some  occasions  numbers 
stood  at  the  windows  during  the  entire  seryice. 

I  was  supervisor  of  the  post  office,  and  officially  appointed 
to  examine  the  contents  of  letters,  which  were  mailed  and 
forwarded  on  my  approval.  Paper  and  envelopes  were  fur 
nished  gratuitously,  and  post  stamps  when  needed,  were 
supplied  to  the  extent  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  to 
my  knowledge,  gratuitously.  From  three  hundred  to  five 
hundred  letters  were  forwarded  daily  after  the  first  arrival 
of  prisoners. 

The  common  expression  in  their  letters  as  to  their  con 
dition  was  that  "we  have  everything  we  need,  and  could 
not  be  better  off." 

Funeral  service  was  always  performed  over  the  dead, 
using  the  service  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  over 
the  remains  of  the  dead.  A  record  was  uniformly  made 
of  the  names,  company,  and  regiment,  of  the  deceased,  and 
date  of  death.  This  record  was  made  independently  of  a 
formal  Hospital  register. 

EOBEKT  LOWRY, 

Chaplain  U.  S.  A. 
Sworn  to  before  me, 

WAEEEN  WEBSTEE, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.,  in  charge. 


TREATMENT  OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  227 


JOHNSON'S   ISLAND, 

(NEAR  SANDUSKY,  OHIO.) 


Testimony  taken  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  June  3,  1864. 
COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT : 

MR.  WILKINS,  DR.  WALLACE,  MR.  WALDEN. 


Surgeon  CHARLES  P.  WILSON,  examined: — 

I  was  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon,  United  States  Army.  1 
was  stationed  at  Johnson's  Island,  three  miles  from  San- 
dusky,  from  the  last  week  of  October,  1863,  to  the  last  week 
of  January,  1864.  My  duty  was  to  attend  to  our  men 
guarding  the  rebel  prisoners,  and  also  to  attend  at  the 
Smallpox  Hospital  for  rebel  prisoners,  and  at  the  Post  Hos 
pital  for  our  garrison ;  my  position  enabled  me  to  see  the 
general  condition  and  the  general  treatment  of  the  prisoners. 

There  could  not  be  a  more  healthy  or  pleasant  place  than 
this  island.  Kelly's  Island,  a  popular  place  of  resort  for 
pleasure  and  health,  is  about  six  miles  from  this  island,  and 
QO  better  for  these  objects. 

The  buildings  were  good ;  in  good  order ;  they  were  new ; 
say  two  years  old ;  convenient  and  comfortable ;  they  might 
have  been  better  ventilated ;  the  buildings  were  frame,  and 
lined  inside ;  they  had  rows  of  bunks,  as  in  barracks,  in 
three  tiers — -just  the  same  as  our  men  have  in  most  of  our 
barracks. 

The  rebel  prisoners  all  had  blankets,  either  their  own  or 
furnished  by  the  United  States  Government,  and  were  gene 
rally  furnished  with  clothing  by  the  United  States  Govern 
ment — pants,  shoes,  hats,  blouses,  and  underclothing  and 


228  ,  APPENDIX. 

stockings, — until  a  snort  time  before  I  left,  then  these  were 
furnished  to  those  only  who  actually  needed  them. 

I  have  several  times  seen  of  an  afternoon  boxes  carted 
in,  and  these  articles  distributed  from  the  boxes  among  the 
prisoners,  according  to  their  wants. 

I  was  there  in  extremely  cold  weather,  when  the  supplies 
were  teamed  on  the  ice  from  the  main  land  to  Johnson's 
Island,  a  distance  of  three  miles ;  the  prisoners  were  pro 
vided  against  this  severe  weather  by  wood  hauled  every  day 
for  their  use  in  stoves. 

I  consider  that  the  wood  was  sufficient  for  comfortable 
supply,  except  for,  say  two  or  possibly  three  days,  when  the 
teams  were  engaged  in  bringing  lumber  and  provisions  for 
additiocal  troops ;  during  these  two  or  three  clays  the  supply 
of  wood  was  scant,  and  was  the  subject  of  complaint. 

No  prisoners  were  frost-bitten  or  came  under  medical 
treatment  from  cold  and  exposure,  except  some  who  at 
tempted  to  escape.  They  all  fared  as  well  in  this  respect  as 
our  men  do  in  barracks  generally. 

The  sick  men  all  had  ticks  filled  with  straw  as  beds ;  the 
hospital  building  for  the  rebels  was  lined  and  plastered. 

There  was  abundant  supply  of  good  water  from  the  lake 
by  pipes  and  pumps ;  when  the  pipes  froze  they  could  go  to 
the  lake,  under  guard,  and  supply  themselves,  bringing  it 
up  in  suitable  vessels ;  they  always  had  plenty  of  water  to 
wash  themselves  and  their  clothes. 

The  rations  of  the  prisoners  were  the  same  as  those 
furnished  to  our  own  soldiers  according  to  regulations. 

The  prisoners  did  not  consume  all  their  rations,  for  I 
know  that  there  was  a  large  prison  fund  formed  from  the 
savings. 

During  the  hours  of  the  day  the  prisoners  were  allowed 
to  be  in  the  open  air  as  much  as  they  pleased ;  there  was 
abundant  room  for  them  all  to  take  as  much  exercise  as 
they  required  for  health ;  they  played  games  in  the  open 
air. 

The  surgeon  in  charge  treated  the   sick   rebels   as  he 


TBEATMENT  OF  REBEL   PRISONERS.  229 

treated  our  sick;  there  was  no  difference  at  all,  except 
when  special  articles  of  diet  were  sent  to  our  men  by  their 
friends. 

Some  four  hundred  and  sixty  rebel  privates  were  sent  to 
some  other  prison  in  November ;  most  of  them  had  been  on 
Johnson's  Island  for  some  months ;  when  they  left,  taking 
them  as  a  whole,  their  physical  condition  was  excellent. 

You  could  not  have  found  the  same  number  of  prisoners 
anywhere  in  better  condition. 

C.  P.  WILSON, 

Surgeon  13 8th  Regiment  O.  N.  G. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me,  at 
Washington,  D.  C.,  this  $d  day 
of  June,  1864. 

M.  H.  N.  KENDIG, 

Notary  Public. 


Depositions  taken  at  Sandusky,  Ohio. 


Major  T.  WOODBRIDGE,  M.  D.,  Surgeon  in  charge,  sworn 
and  examined: — 

Q.  "What  has  been  and  is  now  your  position  in  the  army 
of  the  United  States? 

A.  I  am  Surgeon  of  the  128th  Eegiment  0.  V.  I.,  and 
Surgeon  in  charge  of  the  Depot  for  Prisoners  of  War  on 
Johnson's  Island,  near  Sandusky,  Ohio. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  held  this  position  ? 

A.  Since  the  establishment  of  the  prison.  I  came  to  the 
island  in  February,  1862.  The  first  prisoners  came  in  April, 
1862.  I  have  had  medical  supervision  of  the  prison  from 
then  until  now. 

Q.  What  is  your  Dpinion  of  Johnson's  Island  as  to  health 
and  salubrity  ? 


230  APPENDIX. 

A .  I  believe  Johnson's  Island  to  be  as  favorable  to  health 
as  the  climate  of  Newport  or  Saratoga  in  summer,  and  as 
that  of  Cincinnati  or  Dayton  in  winter.  The  latitude  is 
about  41J0  North,  longitude  82°  42'  West.  Height  of  lake 
above  tide-water  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet.  The 
island  rests  upon  a  bed  of  Devonian  limestone,  which  rises 
gradually  from  the  shore  to  the  centre,  terminating  in  a 
ridge  of  limestone  rock,  thus  affording  complete  natural 
drainage.  The  water  used  is  principally  that  of  the  bay, 
which  comes  in  fresh  constantly  from  Lake  Erie. 

Q.  What  diseases,  if  any,  are  peculiar  to  Johnson's  Island 
or  the  neighboring  islands  in  Lake  Erie  ? 

A.  I  know  of  no  diseases  peculiar  to  those  islands  or  preva 
lent  in  them.  Johnson's  Island  is  a  small  one,  containing  only 
about  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  and  previous  to  the  estab 
lishment  of  the  prison,  if  I  am  correctly  informed,  was  not 
inhabited  by  more  than  one  family  at  a  time;  but  the 
Peninsula,  with  Kelley's  Island  and  the  Put-in-Bay  Islands, 
have  been  inhabited  for  between  thirty  and  forty  years,  I 
have  conversed  frequently  with  some  of  the  oldest  citizen? 
of  the  peninsula  and  the  islands,  but  have  never  heard  them 
speak  of  any  liability  to  diseases,  but  such  as  is  common  to 
other  parts  of  Ohio. 

Q.  Is  there  any  truth  in  the  assertion  made  by  rebel 
authorities  that  residence  on  the  island  for  a  few  months 
produces  in  a  great  number  of  prisoners  dangerous  and  fatal 
pulmonary  disorders? 

A.  Not  the  slightest. 

Q.  What  has  been  the  rate  of  mortality  among  the 
prisoners? 

A.  In  1862 — from  April  to  December  inclusive — the 
number  of  deaths  was  thirty-seven.  During  the  year  1863 
measles  and  smallpox  were  brought  into  the  prison  by 
prisoners  sent  from  Alton  and  other  prisons,  and  many 
wounded  at  the  battles  of  Gettysburg,  augmenting  our  mor 
tality  list  above  what  it  would  otherwise  have  reached.  The 
number  of  deaths  for  1863  was  ninety-seven.  This  makes 


TKEATMENT   OF    REBEL    PEISONERS.  231 

from  the  time  of  the  first  arrival  of  prisoners  in  April,  1862, 
to  January  1st,  186-i,  (twenty-one  months,)  a  mortality  list 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-four,  out  of  an  aggregate  of  six 
thousand  four  hundred  and  ten,  received  into  the  prison  in 
that  time.  As  there  were  exchanges  and  removals  of 
prisoners,  the  number  in  prison  never  exceeded  twenty- 
seven  hundred  at  any  one  time.*  Many  of  the  prisoners 
came  here  with  health  impaired,  by  bad  diet,  exposure,  and 
often  by  wounds  received  in  battle.  The  bill  of  mortality 
owes  little  to  the  climate  of  the  post,  when  we  consider  that 
men  in  prison,  away  from  home  and  friends,  are  weighed 
down  by  anxieties  and  despondency,  thus  making  the  treat 
ment  of  disease  more  difficult. 

Q.  Please  state  the  number  of  prisoners  now  at  the  post  ? 

A.  About  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  six.f 

Q.  Please  state  the  number  of  deaths  during  the  past  two 
months. 

A.  In  the  month  of  May  there  were  five  deaths;  in  the 
month  of  June  only  one. 

Q.  What  accommodations  are  provided  for  the  care  of 
the  sick  ? 

A.  The  hospital  building  is  one  hundred  and  twenty- six 
by  thirty  feet,  with  a  transverse  hall  six  and  a  half  feet  wide 
in  the  centre.  There  are  four  wards,  each  forty-eight  by 
thirty  feet.  There  are  eighty  beds  in  all,  giving  to  each 
patient,  when  the  wards  are  full,  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
cable  feet  of  atmospheric  air.  The  dispensary  is  furnished 
with  all  the  medicines  and  stimulants  furnished  to  hospitals 
for  our  own  soldiers,  and  more  than  double  the  quantity  is 
used  by  prisoners  than  by  the  same  number  of  our  troops. 
I  have  always  had  the  assistance  of  competent  Confederate 
surgeons,  who  cheerfully  aid  by  giving  their  time  to  this 
duty.  When  there  are  no  commissioned  surgeons  in  prison, 

*  The  average  number  of  prisoners  for  the  entire  of  the  year  1863, 
was  eleven  hundred  and  fifteen. 

f  In  May,  1864,  there  were  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
four,  and  in  June,  1864,  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  nine. 


232  APPENDIX. 

there  are  surgeons  holding  commissions  in  the  line  who  do 
this  duty.  The  cooking  for  the  hospital  is  done  by  the 
most  experienced  and  skilful  cooks  we  can  find  in  the 
prison. 

In  addition  to  rations,  the  sick  are  furnished  with  flour, 
potatoes,  corn-meal,  milk,  butter,  eggs,  chickens,  tea,  &c.,  &c. 
The  bedding  is  amply  sufficient  to  make  each  patient  com 
fortable.  A  pest-house  is  built  outside  the  prison,  to  which 
all  cases  of  smallpox,  measles  or  other  contagions  are 
removed  on  first  development. 

J.  WOODBMDGE, 

Surgeon  izSth  O.  V.  I. 

Subscribed  in  my  presence  and  sworn  to  before 
me  at  Sandusky,  Ohio,  this  fth  day  of  July, 
1864. 

[SEAL.]    HENEY  C.  BUSH, 

Notary  Public  in  and  for  Erie  County,  Ohio. 

Surgeon  EVEETMAN,  examined: — 

Q.  What  position  do  you  now  hold  at  Depot  Prisoners  of 
War? 

A.  I  act  as  chief  medical  officer  of  United  States  forces 
and  military  prison. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  held  that  position  ? 

A.  Since  the  17th  of  May,  1864. 

Q.  What  is  your  opinion  of  the  general  healthfulness  and 
salubrity  of  Johnson's  Island  ? 

A.  The  general  condition  of  the  troops  and  prisoners  of 
war  at  this  post  has  been  unusually  good  and  healthy.  The 
hospital  in  the  prison,  during  the  past  two  months,  scarcely 
ever  had  more  than  thirty  inmates  among  an  aggregate 
number  of  two  thousand  one  hundred  prisoners  of  war. 
The  prevailing  diseases,  during  this  time,  were  diarrhoea, 
acute  and  chronic ;  a  few  cases  of  dysentery,  and  a  small 
number  of  intermittent  fever.  I  consider  the  island  as 
healthy  as  any  locality  I  have  ever  visited. 

Q.  Have  you  known  any  undue  tendency  to  pulmonary 


TREATMENT   OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  233 

disorders  on  this  or  the  adjoining  islands,  or  any  part  of  the 
surrounding  country? 

A.  I  have  not,  at  least  not  during  the  time  that  I  have 
been  stationed  here.  In  the  early  part  of  the  spring  there 
were  some  few  cases  of  pneumonia  and  bronchitis,  but  not 
any  more  so  than  would  be  expected  even  in  a  climate 
further  south  than  this. 

Q.  What  proportion  of  pulmonary  complaints  furnished 
in  your  hospital  reports  ? 

A.  For  the  past  six  months  the  ratio  has  been  as  follows : 

January,    .  .  61  sick  treated,  10  pulmonary  diseases. 

February,  .  66  5 

March,      .  .  46        "  7 

April,        .  .  91  1 

May,         .  .  62  2 

June,         .  .  80  5 

Total,     .     .  -109  30 

Q.  "What  is  the  appearance  of  the  prisoners  generally  at 
this  time  ? 

A.  Their  appearance  is  very  good.  The  prisoners  con 
fined  at  this  depot  are  all  rebel  officers,  but  have  very  little 
pride  to  keep  themselves  or  their  quarters  clean. 

Q.  Do  the  prisoners  seem  to  gain  or  decline  in  health 
after  their  arrival  here  ? 

A.  As  a  general  thing  their  health  improves.  Most  of 
the  prisoners  are  robust  and  in  good  physical  condition. 

HENEY  EVEBTMAN, 

Surgeon  U.  S.  Vols.,  Chief  Medical  Officer. 

Subscribed  in  my  presence  and  sworn 
to  before  me  at  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
this  fth  day  of  July,  1864. 

[SEAL.]    HENRY  C.  BUSH, 

Notary  Public  in  and  for  Erie  County,  Ohio. 


234  APPENDIX. 


Deposition  taken  at  Kelley's  Island. 


GEORGE  C.  HUNTINGTON  examined: 

Q.  How  long  have  you  resided  on  Kelley's  Island? 

A.  Since  the  Fall  of  1838,  with  the  exception  of  one  year, 
from  the  fall  of  1844  to  the  fall  of  1845.  Have  been  ac- 
quainted  on  the  Island  since  1835. 

Q.  What  means  have  yon  of  furnishing  a  statement  oi 
the  character  of  the  climate  and  sanitary  condition  of 
Kelley's  Island,  and  the  neighboring  islands,  and  the  sur 
rounding  country? 

A.  I  have  been  in  the  habit,  during  the  entire  period  of 
my  residence  on  the  island,  of  noting  extremes  of  tempera 
ture,  and  such  casual  phenomena  as  would,  in  my  opinion, 
have  any  bearing  on  the  general  health  of  the  place;  and 
lor  more  than  five  years  past,  have  made  three  records  daily 
of  everything  connected  with  the  changes  of  the  weather, 
in  the  manner  prescribed  by,  and  under  the  direction  of,  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

Q.  Please  state  the  latitude,  longitude,  and  height  above 
tide-water  of  Kelley's  Island — its  population,  and  the  gene 
ral  character  of  the  island  for  salubrity? 

A.  My  place  of  observation  is  in  latitude  41°  35'  44"  K, 
longitude  82°  42'  82"  W.  The  level  of  Lake  Erie  is  565 
feet  above  tide-water,  and  the  island  may  in  some  places 
rise  fifty  or  sixty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  lake ;  but  I 
think  the  mean  height  of  the  island  would  not  vary  much 
from  twenty-five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  lake.  The 
population,  in  April  last,  was  six  hundred  and  fifty-one.  As 
to  the  salubrity  of  the  climate,  the  matter  will  be  best  deter 
mined  by  the  statistics  given  in  answer  to  the  next  question. 


TREATMENT  OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  235 

Q.  What  lias  been  the  per  centage  of  mortality,  annually, 
on  your  island  ? 

A.  In  answer  to  this  question  I  give  an  abstract  from  the 
records  of  the  "Cemetery  Association."  This  association 
was  organized  in  May,  1853,  since  which  time  the  whole 
number  of  interments  has  been  ...  43 

From  this  deduct,  lost  from  vessels  and  washed  ashore,  3 
Died  in  Nashville,  from  wounds  in  battle,  .  .       1 

—  4 

Whole  number  of  interments  in  11  years,      .  38 

To  this  add,  died  here  and  taken  elsewhere  for  interment,    5 

Whole  number  of  deaths  in  11  years,  .  43 

From  diseases  reported  as  follows: — 

Killed  by  premature  blast  1,  drowned  2,    .  .3 

Old  age  3,  intemperance  1,  dropsy  1,  .5 

Still-born  and  infants  but  a  few  days  old,  .  .       8 

Dysentery  and  summer  complaint,  .  .       9 

Inflammation  of  bowels,     .  .  .  .3 

Diseases  affecting  respiratory  organs,          .  .       5 

Throat  affection,  age  76,  age  50,      .  .  .2 

Fevers,  (one  contracted  in  army  hospital,)  .  .       3 

Childbirth  1,  congestion  of  brain  1,  .  .2 

Fits  1,  not  specified  2,  .  .  .3 

—  43 

The  average  population  of  the  island  for  this  period  of 
eleven  years  has  been,  as  appears  by  the  returns  of  the 
township  assessor,  428,  which  would  give  an  annual  mor 
tality  of  3.9 ;  but  if  we  deduct  casualties  3,  still-born  and 
infants,  which,  although  born  alive,  had  not  vitality  enough 
fairly  to  commence  the  journey  of  life,  8;  and  one  from 
disease  contracted  in  hospital  in  Nashville,  1,  it  will  reduce 
the  number  of  deaths  properly  chargeable  to  disease  and 
old  age,  to  thirty-one,  or  an  annual  mortality  of  2.82  in  a 
population  of  428.  This  would  be  an  annual  mortality 
from  all  causes  of  one  per  cent.,  and  from  disease,  in- 


236  APPENDIX. 

eluding  old  age,  an  annual  mortality  of  less  than  seventy  - 
three-hundredths  of  one  per  cent.  (0.724.)  By  comparing 
these  results  with  the  tables  of  mortality  in  different  sec 
tions  of  the  country,  the  salubrity  of  our  climate  and  the 
immunity  from  the  ordinary  diseases  of  the  country  en 
joyed  by  the  inhabitants  of  this  island  as  compared  with 
other  localities,  may  be  easily  deduced. 

Q.  What  is  the  distance  of  Kclley's  from  Johnson's 
Island,  and  is  there  any  difference  in  the  physical  or 
sanitary  peculiarities  of  the  two  islands? 

A.  Johnson's  Island  is  about  seven  miles  nearly  due 
south  from  Kelley's  Island,  and  I  am  not  aware  of  any 
natural  causes  which  should  make  any  difference  in  the 
salubrity  of  climate  or  sanitary  condition  of  the  two  locali 
ties,  unless  the  difference  in  the  water  between  Sandnskv 
Bay  and  the  open  lake  (the  latter  being  considered  rather 
more  free  from  impurities)  might  be  considered  a  difference, 
so  far  as  it  is  used  for  culinary  purposes  or  as  a  beverage. 

Q.  Is  there  any  undue  tendency  to  pulmonary  disorders 
among  the  inhabitants  of  these  islands  ? 

A.  By  reference  to  the  answer  to  a  preceding  question,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  whole  number  of  deaths  from  diseases 
affecting  the  respiratory  organs  in  a  period  of  eleven  years, 
and  in  a  population  averaging  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight,  was  but  five,  and  of  this  number  one  was  a  transient 
person ;  leaving  but  four  cases  in  eleven  years  among  those 
who  could  be  properly  called  residents. 

Q.  Has  Johnson's  Island  ever  had  a  bad  repute  for  un- 
healthiness  ? 

A.  I  have  never  heard  Johnson's  Island  called  unhealthy. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  known  any  very  fatal  diseases  among 
the  inhabitants  of  Lake  Erie? 

A.  The  Asiatic  cholera  has  passed  through  the  lake  region 
as  an  epidemic,  four  times  I  think,  since  it  first  made  its 
appearance  on  this  continent  in  1832.  I  am  not  aware  of 
any  other  very  fatal  diseases  having  prevailed  in  the  lake 
region  since  my  first  acqanintance  with  it  in  1830. 


TKEATMEXT    OF    REBEL   PRISONERS. 

STATE  OF  OHIO, 

Erie  County. 

Before  me,  the  subscriber,  a  Notary  Public,  in  and  for  the 
County  of  Erie  and  State  of  Ohio,  personally  came  Gr.  C. 
Huntington,  who  being  duly  sworn  by  me  according  to  law, 
deposes  and  says  that  the  statements  above  made  are  com 
piled  from  official  and  other  reliable  data,  and  that  they  are 
true  according  to  his  knowledge  and  belief. 

GEO.  C.  HUNTINGTON. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me, 
July  4th,  A.  D.  1864. 

[SEAL.]    A.  S.  KELLEY, 

Notary  Public. 


EVIDENCE 


REBEL   PRISONERS, 

RELATING   TO 

RATIONS,  CLOTHING,  SHELTER 
AND  HOSPITAL  TREATMENT  IN  THE  REBEL  ARMY: 

ALSO, 

TO  THEIR   CONDITION  AT  UNITED    STATES    STATIONS 

FOR 

PRISONERS  OF 


(239) 


EVIDENCE 


SOLDIERS  OF  THE  REBEL  ARMY  CONFINED  AT  UNITED 
STATES  STATIONS, 


Testimony   taken   at    Lincoln    Hospital,    Washing 
ton,  D.  C.,  taken  June,  4,  1864. 

COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT:. 

DR.  WALLACE,  MR.  WALDEN. 


WILLIAM  H.  FERGUSON;  llth  Mississippi  infantry; 
twenty-six  years  old ;  private  in  Confederate  service  three 
years ;  health  good  while  in  service  and  up  to  the  time  of 
my  capture. 

Had  walled  tents  sometimes,  and  cabins  sometimes  when 
in  winter  quarters. 

Always  had  this  kind  of  covering  except  while  in  active 
service ;  then  we  had  no  tents  or  cabins,  say  from  first  of 
May  till  we  go  into  winter  quarters. 

We  commonly  carry  one  blanket. 

Could  have  more  if  we  wanted  it. 

Could  take  captured  tents  and  carry  and  use  them  if  we 
choose. 

We  were  comfortable  as  far  as  body  clothing  and  blan- 

16  (241) 


21:2  APPENDIX. 

kets  fire  concerned ;  when  one  coat  or  pants  wears  out  we 
can  get  more  from  our  own  quartermasters. 

A  day's  ration  is  one  and  one-eighth  pounds  wheat  flour 
or  one  and  one-fourth  pounds  corn  meal ;  one  and  one-fourth 
pounds  beef,  fresh,  (could  generally  get  fresh  beef,  driving 
cattle  along  with  us)  or  half-pound  bacon  in  place  of  beef; 
we  also  drew  during  the  first  year  of  war,  coffee,  sugar,  and 
rice  ;  second  and  third  years  had  no  coffee  ;  sometimes  we 
could  get  sugar  and  rice ;  since  Christmas  last  we  got  coffee 
again. 

We  always  had  plenty  to  eat  and  sometimes  more,  while 
not  on  campaign ;  but  on  campaign,  then  we  always  had 
enough,  but  none  to  spare. 

Since  our  capture  we  get  enough  grub  to  keep  us  from 
hunger ;  we  don't  suffer ;  we  have  a  full  allowance ;  we  are 
as  well  treated  as  your  own  men. 

I  was  wounded  in  my  right  leg  just  above  the  ankle; 
healing  kindly  now. 

Kindly  treated  by  the  officers  and  subordinates  since  our 
capture. 

I  have  not  been,  and  never  have  seen  any  of  our  boys 
robbed  or  otherwise  ill-treated  by  the  Union  men ;  I  have 
seen  and  heard  some  occasional  rough  talk  and  swearing  at 
us,  but  nothing  more  than  that ;  this  was  from  a  few  of  the 
privates ;  not  a  general  rule. 

We  have  had  civil  talk  and  argument  as  a  common  thing 
with  the  Union  soldiers  on  the  subject  of  the  war. 

I  was  captured  fifth  of  May,  1864. 

Our  food  in  the  Confederate  army  was  of  good  quality. 

Our  corn  meal  that  we  had  was  very  good;  we  had 
generally  white,  sometimes  yellow  meal ;  it  was  bolted  or 
sifted  and  of  fine  grain. 

We  never  had  grains  of  corn  or  bits  of  cob  in  our  meal. 

WILLIAM  H.  FEKGUSON, 

Company  D,  nth  Mississippi  Volunteers. 


TESTIMONY   OF   EEBEL   PRISONERS.  243 

I  have  been  in  the  Confederate  service  two  years  and  six 
months ;  was  captured  on  fifth  of  May,  1864.  Was  wounded 
through,  the  right  shoulder  and  chest.  I  am  improving  in 
strength ;  and  I  suppose  I  am  gaining  flesh,  now,  though  I 
am  not  as  strong  or  fleshy  as  when  I  was  captured. 

I  have  been  present  at  the  statements  made  by  William 
H.  Ferguson,  llth  Mississippi  Volunteers;  I  have  heard 
them  all ;  I  substantiate  their  accuracy  from  my  experience 
and  observation  as  to  our  condition  in  the  service,  though  I 
was  attached  to  a  different  corps  of  the  army. 

W.  0.  QUAELES, 

Company  H,  3d  Alabama  Regiment,  Infantry. 


LARKIN  A.  GRIFFIN,  native  of  South  Carolina ;  home  in 
Florida;  belong  to  1st  South  Carolina  rifles. 

The  statement  made  by  William  H.  Ferguson  has  been 
read  and  shown  to  me.  It  agrees  with  my  observation  and 
experience  except  as  noted  below.  I  have  been  in  Confed 
erate  service  nearly  three  years;  my  health  was  alwaya 
excellent  while  in  the  service ;  I  was  well  and  strong  when 
wounded  and  captured ;  captured  on  12th  May,  1864. 

During  the  winter  of  1862  and  1863,  we  had  full  rations 
of  bread,  but  only  half  rations  of  bacon  for  about  three 
months. 

Our  corn  meal  was  very  finely  ground,  but  the  hull  was 
not  sifted  out. 

In  a  few  isolated  cases  our  captured  men  were  directed 
to  leave  their  knapsacks  and  haversacks  behind  them ;  it 
was  not  a  general  thing  at  all. 

I  never  saw  nor  heard  our  men  sworn  at  or  cursed  by 
the  Union  soldiers. 

L.  A.  GEIFFIN. 


I  have  seen  and  had  read  to  me  the  statements  made  by 
William  H.  Ferguson.     They  are  correct  as  proved  by  my 


244  APPENDIX. 

own  experience  and  observation  generally.  I  have  been  in' 
the  Confederate  service  three  years ;  my  health  and  strength 
while  in  the  service  was  good  during  the  third  year ;  better 
than  before. 

We  had  coffee  always,  except  during  1863,  up  to  about 
Christmas. 

A  Union  lieutenant  once  damned  me  and  told  me  I  was 
not  worthy  of  a  place ;  I  replied,  "  I  hoped  the  Lord  would 
forgive  him  and  make  him  a  better  man." 

PLEASANT  H.  EEESB, 

Company  I,  i3th  Georgia  Regiment. 


I  have  seen  and  had  read  to  me  the  statements  made  by 
William  H.  Ferguson. 

They  are  correct  as  proved  by  my  own  experience  and 
observation  generally ;  I  have  been  in  the  Confederate 
service  two  years ;  my  health  was  not  very  good  till  this 
last  winter  ;  then  it  was  tolerably  good  ;  could  do  all  my 
duties.  Through  last  summer  we  did  not  draw  coffee. 

JOSEPH  F.  DAVIDSON, 

Company  A,  49th  Georgia  Regiment. 


VIRGIL  CARROLL,  aged  twenty-one ;  artillery,  Yirginia. 

Clothing  always  good  and  warm. 

Plenty  of  blankets  and  good  shelter ;  shelter  tents. 

Plenty  to  eat.  Eations — coffee,  sugar,  bacon,  meal,  occa 
sionally  fresh  meat,  potatoes  (Irish),  rice,  peas,  wheat  bread. 

Always  enough ;  much  as  we  could  consume ;  this 
especially  during  the  last  three  months. 

Clothing  very  plentiful. 

Fourth  year  -in  the  army,  never  suffered  for  food  or 
clothing. 

YIRGIL  CARROLL. 


TESTIMONY   OF  REBEL   PRISONERS.  2-±5 

I  corroborate  the  above  statement  of  Yirgil  Carroll. 

S.  P.  TWEDY, 

Company  C,  nth  Regiment,  Virginia. 

JOSHUA  BARKER,  South  Carolina,  4th  Eifles.     I  corrobo 
rate  the  above  statement  of  Yirgil  Carroll. 

JOSHUA  BABKEE. 

C.  A.  BOWMAN,  North  Carolina  32d. 

I  corroborate  the  above  statement  of  Yirgil  Carroll. 

C.  A.  BOWMAN. 


DISTRICT    OF    COLUMBIA,  1  gg 
County  of  Washington,    j 

Personally  appeared  before  me  the  within  named  William 
H.  Ferguson,  W.  0.  Quarles,  L.  A.  Griffin,  Pleasant  H.  Eeese, 
Joseph  F.  Davidson,  Yirgil  Carroll,  S.  P.  Twedy,  Joshua 
Barker,  C.  A.  Bowman,  who  being  severally  sworn,  say 
that  the  statements  set  forth  by  them  are  correct  and  true  to 
the  best  of  their  knowledge  and  belief.  9 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  this 
fourth  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1864. 

M.  H.  N.  KENDIG, 

Notary  Public. 


246  APPENDIX. 


Testimony   taken   at   De   Camp    General   Hospital, 
U.  S.  A.,  New  York,  June  lyth,  1864. 


COMMISSIONER  PRESENT  : 

ME.  WILKINS. 


Deposition  of  A.  B.  BARROJST,  of  nabersham  county, 
Georgia,  Co.  K,  24th  Georgia. 

I  have  served  in  the  Confederate  service  two  years  and 
three  days.  I  arrived  at  this  hospital  two  days  since,  and 
depose  as  follows: 

That  I  have  served  in  Virginia,  and  was  wounded  at 
Cool  Arbor. 

In  the  Confederate  service  we  have  no  tents  in  the  field, 
except  shelter  tents;  had  one  blanket  and  one  oil-cloth, 
and  lay  on  the  ground. 

When  wounded,  had  on  a  good  suit  and  a  change  of 
clothes,  but  was  not  robbed  of  money,  clothes,  or  anything 
which  I  had  when  taken  captive. 

To-morrow  being  the  last  day  of  the  week,  and  the  time 
for  a  regular  supply  of  clothing,  I  expect  clean  clothes. 
Everything  was  in  a  proper  state  for  my  reception  when  I 
arrived  here. 

I  have  been  in  the  Confederate  hospitals  in  the  field  ; 
there  were  straw  beds  and  a  few  sheets. 

Rations  in  our  service  were  bacon,  half  pound,  or  one 
ponnd.of  beef;  rice,  coffee  and  sugar  occasionally ;  rations 
of  bread  were  six  hard  biscuits  a  day,  or  half  pound  of 
meal  or  flour  a  day. 

We  had  a  plentiful  s  "ipply  of  wood  ;  our  people  did  not 
Buffer  from  cold. 


TESTIMONY   OF  REBEL  PRISONERS.  247 

We  had  medical  attendance  and  medicines  as  we  had 
need. 

The  sick  were  treated  kindly ;  there  was  care  as  to  our 
cleanliness ;  it  was  the  best ;  soap,  &c.,  was  issued  to  us ; 
no  want  of  salt. 

Since  we  were  captured,  we  have  been  treated  very  well, 
just  as  well  as  your  own  boys  all  the  time,  and  we  have  no 
fault  to  find.  I  was  told  I  could  not  find  it  so. 

I  was  a  farmer;  worked  on  my  father's  farm.  I  ex- 
pected  to  be  made  a  conscript,  and  volunteered  in  pre- 

T£*T»£iT"J  C*O 

ALBERT  B.  BARROK 

Sworn  to  before  me, 

WARREN  WEBSTER, 

Assistant.  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.  in  charge  of  Hospital. 

Deposition  of  WILLIAM  M.  FARMER,  native  of  Franklin 
county,  Georgia,  Company  H,  24th  Georgia  Regi 
ment.  Business,  a  farmer. 

I  entered  the  service  of  the  Confederate  States  in 
August,  1861 ;  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  Cool 
Arbor. 

I  had  on,  when  wounded,  a  waistcoat,  pants,  drawers, 
shirt  and  boots,  and  not  anything  was  taken  away  from  me 
by  my  captors. 

I  have  needed  nothing  since  captured,  having  been  sup 
plied  at  the  landing  by  the  Sanitary  Commission.  I  have 
had  plenty  to  eat ;  no  difference  has  been  made  since  my 
capture  between  the  wounded  prisoners  and  the  Federal 
wounded. 

Rations  in  our  service  were  bacon,  half  pound,  or  half 
pound  of  beef ;  rice,  coffee  and  sugar  occasionally  ;  rations 
of  bread  were  six  hard  biscuits  a  day,  or  half  pound  of 
meal,  or  half  pound  of  flour  a  day.  I  have  always  had 
food  enough  of  this  kind,  and  while  in  Virginia  the  same 
as  elsewhere. 


248  APPENDIX. 

In  the  Confederate  service  we  had  good  tents  in  the 
winter,  but  on  the  march  we  had  only  blankets,  and  no 
shelter. 

I  was  in  No.  4  General  Hospital,  Kichmond,  during  six 
teen  days,  in  May  1863  ;  we  had  there  as  much  as  we 
could  eat,  with  good  bedding  and  sheets  as  we  have  here. 

"We  were  better  off  in  the  hospital  than  in  the  field,  as 
we  had  there  coffee,  sugar  and  soft  bread. 

I  have  had  every  comfort  and  attention  since  I  have 
been  here.  The  same  in  all  respects  as  Union  soldiers. 

WILLIAM  M.  FAKMEK. 

Sworn  to  before  me, 

WAEEEN  WEBSTEE, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.,  in  charge  of  Hospital. 

I 

Deposition  of    DANIEL  F.   PEINCE,  native    of    Columbis 
county,  North  Carolina,  Company  n,  51st  Eegiment. 

I  entered  the  Confederate  service  in  March,  1862,  and 
arrived  here  on  the  15th  of  June  last.  I  was  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Cool  Arbor ;  had  some  extra  clothing  in  a 
bundle,  which  was  cut  loose  by  a  Federal  soldier  at  my 
request. 

I  lay  in  a  cross  fire,  and  the  Federal  soldiers  dragged 
me  out  of  the  line  of  fire  into  a  ditch. 

I  was  treated  mighty  kindly. 

The  Federals  dressed  my  wounds,  and  carried  me  to 
White  House  Landing,  and  sent  me  immediately  North 
with  your  own  boys. 

In  the  Confederate  service  we  always  got  one  pound  of 
beef  or  half  a  pound  of  bacon  a  day  ;  we  had  flour  or  corn 
bread  alternately,  one  pound  of  flour,  or  one  and  a  quarter 
pounds  of  corn  meal ;  we  had  no  tea  or  coffee  ;  we  had  salt, 
and  a  gill  of  peas  or  rice  a  day  extra. 

We  had  three  full  suits  of  clothes  a  year,  if  needed  ;  if 


\ 


TESTIMONY   OF   EEBEL   PRISONERS.  249 

more,  we  drew  them  and  had  to  pay  for  them  ;  ue  had 
blankets  and  oil-cloths. 

We  had  tents  at  stations,  bat  no  tents  in  the  field. 

We  had  overcoats  in  cold  weather  made  of  wool. 

I  have  been  supplied  with  everything  I  have  wanted 
since  I  came  here,  and  see  no  difference  between  my  treat 
ment  and  that  of  Union  soldiers  here  in  the  hospital. 

his 

DANIEL  F.  M  PRINCE. 

mark. 
Sworn  to  before  me, 

WARREN  WEBSTER, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.,  in  charge  of  Hospital. 


Deposition   of  JOSEPH   WHICHARD,   Pitt    County,  North- 
Carolina,  Company  G,  8th  Eegiment,  North  Carolina. 

I  entered  the  service  in  September,  1861,  and  have  served 
i%  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  at  last  in 
Virginia,  where  I  was  wounded  at  Cool  Arbor. 

I  had  on  at  the  time,  pants,  shoes,  a  shirt,  and  a  pair  of 
drawers ;  my  clothes  were  cut  off  by  the  surgeon  in  order  to 
dress  my  wounds,  and  clean  ones  were  afterwards  supplied 
to  me  by  Union  men,  both  on  board  the  boat  and  since  I 
have  been  here. 

I  have  my  jacket,  and  the  rest  of  my  property  is  on  the 
little  stand  at  the  head  of  my  bed. 

A  blanket  was  taken  away  from  me  when  wounded,  but 
another  has  been  furnished. 

Eations,  half  pound  bacon,  and  ten  hard  biscuits  daily  ; 
nothing  else  to  eat ;  no  rice,  peas,  or  corn  meal. 

Was  in  the  hospital  at  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  a 
year  ago  last  May.  The  fare  was  tolerable. 

On  a  march,  had  an  abundance,  except  for  a  day  or  two, 
when  it  could  not  be  got. 


250  /         APPENDIX. 

Have  had  every  tiling  I  want,  or  have  asked  for,  since  I 
have  been  here. 

J.  WHICHARD. 

Sworn  to  before  me, 

WARREN  WEBSTER, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.  in  charge  of  Hospital. 


Deposition  of  MICHAEL  SUTTON,  Sampson  County,  North 
Carolina,  Company  B,  51st  Regiment. 

I  have  been  nearly  three  years  in  the  Confederate  service ; 
this  is  my  second  enlistment ;  I  might  have  been  drafted  if 
I  had  not  re-enlisted.  I  served  near  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  and  was  wounded  at  Cool  Arbor;  had  some 
clothes  on ;  no  clothes  now  except  what  was  furnished  me 
by  Union  men ;  my  own  clothes  were  bloody  and  had  to 
be  thrown  away. 

I  have  not  been  robbed  of  anything. 

Rations  for  four  days,  one  pound  of  bacon,  and  eighteen 
ounces  of  corn  meal ;  same  weight  of  flour,  but  rarely ;  had 
rice  and  peas,  half  pint  of  rice,  and  a  short  half  pint  of 
peas  a  day.  Meal  not  always  good,  but  lumpy  and  smelt 
bad,  and  then  we  were  rather  stinted  for  food.  Since  we 
have  been  'round  Richmond  we  have  been  short ;  it  was 
enough  to  live  upon  "  without  enough." 

Been  in  hospital  in  Wilmington,  North  Carolina ;  "  fare 
awful  hard  ;  "  want  of  food ;  beds,  &c.,  were  clean. 

Treated  well  on  board  the  vessel ;  the  same  as  Union 
soldiers ;  kind  anJ  attentive  here ;  fared  fine  whi]e  I  have 
been  here ;  I  have  not  asked  for  anything  but  what  I  have 
got  it. 

his 

MICHAEL   [xj  SUTTON. 

mark. 
Swarn  to  before  me, 

WARREN  WEBSTER, 

Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.  in  charge  of  Hospital. 


TESTIMONY   OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  251 


Testimony  taken  at  Fort  Delaware,  June  2ist,  1864* 
COMMISSIONERS  PRESENT : 

DR.  WALLACE,  JUDGE  HARE. 


GEORGE  S.  EOLER,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  am  from  Virginia ;  was  in  the  artillery,  Swell's  Corps ; 
I  am  comfortable  here ;  I  have  just  come  here  last  evening; 
came  through  Washington,  from  Spottsylvania  Court  House, 
where  I  was  taken  prisoner. 

Was  kindly  treated  on  the  way  up ;  had  been  in  the 
service  (Confederate)  three  months  when  taken  prisoner. 

We  had  plenty  of  rations  from  Confederate  Government ; 
they  issued  us  meal,  some  flour,  bacon,  sugar,  coffee  and 
salt ;  got  meat  every  day,  half  pound  bacon  or  a  pound  of 
beef;  one  and  one-eighth  pound  of  meal  a  day,  which 
we  made  up  ourselves ;  plenty  of  coffee  and  sugar  all  the 
winter ;  we  did  not  suffer  for  want  of  food. 

Clothing  plenty  all  winter ;  that  was  the  case  of  the  other 
men  as  well  as  myself;  we  all  had  two  blankets — some 
more ;  none  I  think  less  than  two. 

GEOEGE  S.  EOLER. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  aist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 

HENRY  DANIEL,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  have  been  in  the  Confederate  service,  infantry,  Swell's 
corps,  for  two  years ;  I  came  here  yesterday ;  taken  pris 
oner  at  Spottsylvania  ;  am  from  Georgia. 


252  APPENDIX. 

Had  plenty  to  eat  while  in  the  Confederate  service ;  had 
half  pound  of  bacon,  one  and  one-eighth  pounds  of  flour 
a  day  during  the  winter  ;  in  the  spring,  beef  one  pound  a 
day;  provisions  of  good  quality;  besides  this  had  meal, 
Irish  potatoes,  peas,  coffee,  and  sugar. 

Had  clothes  enough  to  keep  warm ;  two  blankets,  one 
overcoat;  the  army  at  large  had  them;  nothing  to  com 
plain  of  in  the  way  of  food  and  clothing. 

his 

HENKY  H   DANIEL. 

mark. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  2ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


WILLIAM  SHARP,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  have  been  three  years  in  the  Confederate  service  the 
9th  of  next  month,  in  Hill's  corps ;  I  am  from  Georgia  ; 
taken  prisoner  at  Spottsylvania. 

Treatment  was  not  so  good  part  of  the  way  coming  up 
here  ;  they  did  not  give  us  anything  to  eat  but  four  crack 
ers  a  day  till  we  got  to  Belle  Plain,  to  the  boat ;  after  that 
we  had  plenty ;  the  guards  that  were  with  us  across  to 
Belle  Plain  did  not  get  it  either  ;  the  infantry  guard  that 
fetched  us  to  Fredericksburg  had  no  more  than  we  ;  the 
cavalry  brought^  us,  I  don't  know  how  they  fared. 

Eations  last  winter  in  the  Confederate  service  pretty 
good ;  got  one  and  one-eighth  pounds  of  flour,  one-quarter 
pound  of  salt  pork,  when  we  got  sugar  and  coffee ;  when 
we  did  not  get  sugar  and  coffee,  had  half  a  pound  salt  pork ; 
sometimes  we  drew  corn  ineal  and  got  a  pound  and  a  quar 
ter  of  it ;  got  some  potatoes  once  and  a  while ;  some  beans 
occasionally,  and  some  rice. 

Clothes  were  very  good  last  winter ;  had  one  blanket  to 
each  man ;  some  had  two  blankets  ;  had  overcoats. 

Heard  no  complaints  of  want  of  food  or  clothing,  being 
well  clothed  and  fed. 


TESTIMONY   OF  EEBEL   PRISONERS.  253 

I  was  as  fat  as  I  ever  was  in  my  life,  when  I  was  taken 
at  Spottsylvania. 

We  had  tents  and  cabins  built  during  the  winter. 


WILLIAM  M   SHAEP. 

nark. 


Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  2ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


J.  S.  MOORE,  sworn  and  examined: — 

I  have  been  in  the  Confederate  service  nearly  three 
years.  Taken  prisoner  near  Spottsylvania  Court  House; 
was  treated  tolerably  well  on  the  way  up  here  ;  did  not  get 
quite  enough  to  eat. 

Plenty  to  eat  last  winter  and  spring  in  the  Confederate 
service ;  got  meal,  flour,  bacon,  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
bacon  a  day,  and  one  and  one-quarter  pounds  of  meal, 
sometimes  sugar  and  coffee  and  potatoes;  did  not  get 
beans ;  got  no  fresh  meat  last  spring.  Was  in  Hill's  corps. 

Had  plenty  of  clothing ;  one  blanket  a  piece ;  overcoats ; 
some  had  two  blankets. 

We  could  not  carry  more  than  one  blanket  a  piece ; 
could  have  had  more  if  we  had  chosen  to  carry  them. 

Sometimes  we  threw  them  away. 

I  came  from  Mississippi. 

Sometimes  drew  flour,  one  pound,  instead  of  meal; 
never  got  any  more  bacon  than  at  first;  had  plenty  to  eat 
all  the  time ;  generally  had  coffee  on  hand  all  the  time ; 
used  to  have  peas  last  fall ;  was  as  well  fed,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  coffee,  last  winter  as  before. 

JOHN  S.  MOOEE. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  2ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner, 


25-i  APPENDIX. 

L.  S.  CREWS,  sworn  and  examined: 

I  entered  the  Confederate  service  last  December.  I  was 
taken  prisoner  near  Spottsylvania  Court  House ;  came  from 
Virginia ;  in  Swell's  corps ;  well  treated  coming  up  here ; 
got  more  than  I  could  eat,  for  I  was  sick;  they  all  got 
plenty  coming  up  here,  as  far  as  I  know. 

Eations  last  winter  in  our  own  army,  were  tolerable ; 
was  on  corn  meal  principally  through  the  winter ;  got  one 
and  one-quarter  pound  of  corn  meal  a  day,  half  pound  of 
bacon ;  sometimes  molasses  and  potatoes  ;  some  fish,  some 
sugar  and  coffee ;  drawed  a  little  rice ;  got  no  fresh  meat ; 
had  a  little  last  December;  had  enough  food  to  satisfy 
hunger. 

The  men  were  clothed  tolerable  well — all  of  the  men 
had  not  blankets  ;  some  had  thrown  them  away  ;  it  was  so 
with  the  overcoats.  I  was  conscripted. 

his 

L.  S   XI   CKEWS. 

mark. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  2ist,  1864.. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


E.  D.  BENEFIELD,  sworn  and  examined: — 

Taken  prisoner  near  Spottsylvania ;  was  well  treated,  as 
well  as  could  be  expected  on  my  way  up  here. 

Got  about  enough  to  eat  in  the  Confederate  service — one 
and  one  quarter  pounds  of  meal,  and  one-quarter  pound  of 
bacon ;  got  some  sugar,  some  potatoes,  rice  and  coffee ;  no 
beans  or  peas ;  some  sugar ;  allowance  of  bacon  the  same 
all  the  time ;  I  don't  recollect  drawing  any  fresh  meat ;  got 
flour  sometimes. 

Got  tolerable  plenty  of  clothes ;  all  had  plenty  of  blank 
ets  ;  some  overcoats. 

The  men  did  not  suffer,  as  I  know  of,  from  cold ;  have 


V    ' 

TESTIMONY   OF   REBEL   PRISONERS.  255 

been  in  the  service  since  February,  1861.     Was  in  Swell's 
corps. 

E.  D.  BENEFIELD, 

Company  A,  37th  Georgia. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me, 
June  2ist,  1864. 

D.  P.  BROWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


I  certify  that  the  foregoing  testimony,  taken  at  Fort  Del 
aware,  June  21st,  1864,  was  taken  and  reduced  to  writing 
by  me,  in  the  presence  of  the  respective  witnesses,  and  by 
them  sworn  to  and  subscribed  in  my  presence,  at  the  time 
and  in  the  manner  set  forth. 

D.  P.  BBOWN,  JR., 

United  States  Commissioner. 


SUPPLEMENT. 


SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  PRISONERS  AT  ANDERSONVILLE,  GA, 


MEMORIAL  FROM  THE  PRISONERS 


TO   THE 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


LETTER   OF    MAJOR-GENERAL   BUTLER,    UNITED    STATES 

COMMISSIONER  OF  EXCHANGE,  TO  COLONEL  OULD, 

CONFEDERATE  COMMISSIONER. 


17  (257) 


ACCOUNT 


OF   THE 


SUFFERINGS  OF  UNION  PRISONERS  OF  WAR, 

At  Camp  Sumter,  Andersonville,  Ga. 


From  the  Sanitary  Commission  Bulletin. 

The  following  statement  was  drawn  up  for  the  Commis 
sion  and  sworn  to  by  the  parties  signing  it.  They  were 
exchanged  on  the  16th  of  August,  and  with  three  others 
were  appointed  by  their  companions  in  prison  as  a  deputa 
tion  to  see  President  Lincoln  in  their  behalf. 

Deposition  of  PRIVATE  TRACY:— 

I  am  a  private  in  the  82d  New  York  Kegiment  of  Volun 
teers,  Company  G.  Was  captured  with  about  eight  hundred 
Federal  troops,  in  front  of  Petersburg,  on  the  22d  of  June, 
1864.  We  were  kept  at  Petersburg  two  days,  at  Kichmond, 
Belle  Isle,  three  days,  then  conveyed  by  rail  to  Lynchburg. 
Marched  seventy-five  miles  to  Danville,  thence  by  rail  to 
Andersonville,  Georgia.  At  Petersburg  we  were  treated 
fairly,  being  under  the  guard  of  old  soldiers  of  an  Alabama 
regiment ;  at  Richmond  we  came  under  the  authority  of  the 
notorious  and  inhuman  Major  Turner,  and  the  equally  notori 
ous  Home  Guard.  Our  ration  was  a  pint  of  beans,  four  ounces 
of  bread,  and  three  ounces  of  meat  a  day.  Another  batch 

(259) 


260  SUPPLEMENT. 

of  prisoners  joining  us,  we  left  Bichmond  sixteen  hundred 


strong. 


All  blankets,  haversacks,  canteens,  money,  valuables  of 
every  kind,  extra  clothing,  and  in  some  cases,  the  last  shirt 
and  drawers  had  been  previously  taken  from  us. 

At  Lynchburg  we  were  placed  under  the  Home  Guard, 
officered  by  Major  and  Captain  Moffett.  The  march  to  Dan 
ville  was  a  weary  and  painful  one  of  five  days,  under  a 
torrid  sun;  many  of  us  falling  helpless  by  the  way,  and  soon 
filling  the  empty  wagons  of  our  train.  On  the  first  day  we 
received  a  little  meat,  but  the  sum  of  our  rations  for  the 
five  days  was  thirteen  crackers.  During  the  six  days  by 
rail  to  Andersonville,  meat  was  given  us  twice,  and  the  daily 
ration  was  four  crackers. 

On  entering  the  Stockade  Prison,  we  found  it  crowded  with 
twenty-eight  thousand  of  our  fellow- soldiers.  By  crowded, 
I  mean  that  it  was  difficult  to  move  in  any  direction  without 
jostling  and  being  jostled.  This  prison  is  an  open  space, 
sloping  on  both  sides,  originally  seventeen  acres,  now 
twenty-five  acres,  in  the  shape  of  a  parallelogram,  without 
trees  or  shelter  of  any  kind.  The  soil  is  sand  over  a  bottom 
of  clay.  The  fence  is  made  of  upright  trunks  of  trees, 
about  twenty  feet  high,  near  the  top  of  which  are  small 
platforms,  where  the  guards  are  stationed.  Twenty  feet 
inside  and  parallel  to  the  fence  is  a  light  railing,  forming 
the  "  dead  line,"  beyond  which  the  projection  of  a  foot  or 
finger  is  sure  to  bring  the  deadly  bullet  of  the  sentinel. 

Through  the  grounds,  at  nearly  right-angles  with  the 
longer  sides,  runs  or  rather  creeps  a  stream  through  an  artifi 
cial  channel,  varying  from  five  to  six  feet  in  width,  the  water 
about  ankle  deep,  and  near  the  middle  of  the  inclosure, 
spreading  out  into  a  swamp  of  about  six  acres,  filled  with 
refuse  wood,  stumps,  and  debris  of  the  camp.  Before  enter 
ing  this  inclosure,  the  stream,  or  more  properly  sewer, 
passes  through  the  camp  of  the  guards,  receiving  from  this 
source,  and  others  farther  up,  a  large  amount  of  the  vilest 
material,  even  the  contents  of  the  sink.  The  water  is  of  a 


PRISON  AT  ANDERSONVILLE,  GEORGIA, 


"~1  DEPOT 
_T 


GL       WINDER  S   HEADQUARTERS 


A    A     t 

A   A 


HOSPITAL 


(261) 


SUFFERINGS  OF  UNION  PRISONERS  _^T  ANDERSON VILLE.  263 

dark  color,  and  an  ordinary  glass  would  collect  a  thick 
sediment.  This  was  our  only  drinking  and  cooking  water. 
It  was  our  custom  to  filter  it  as  best  we  could,  through  our 
remnants  of  haversacks,  shirts  and  blouses.  Wells  had 
been  dug,  but  the  water  cither  proved  so  productive  of 
diarrhoea,  or  so  limited  in  quantity  that  they  were  of  no 
general  use.  The  cook-house  was  situated  on  the  stream 
just  outside  the  stockade,  and  its  refuse  of  decaying  offal 
was  thrown  into  the  water,  a  greasy  coating  covering  much 
of  the  surface.  To  these  was  added  the  daily  large  amount 
of  base  matter  from  the  camp  itself.  There  was  a  system 
of  policing,  but  the  means  was  so  limited,  and  so  large  a 
number  of  the  men  was  rendered  irresolute  and  depressed 
by  imprisonment,  that  the  work  was  very  imperfectly  clone. 
One  side  of  the  swamp  was  naturally  used  as  a  sink,  the 
men  usually  going  out  some  distance  into  the  water.  Under 
the  summer  sun  this  place  early  became  corruption  too  vile 
for  description,  the  men  breeding  disgusting  life,  so  that  the 
surface  of  the  water  moved  as  with  a  gentle  breeze. 

The  new-comers,  on  reaching  this,  would  exclaim :  "  Is 
this  hell?"  yet  they  soon  would  become  callous,  and  enter 
unmoved  the  horrible  rottenness.  The  rebel  authorities 
never  removed  any  filth.  There  was  seldom  any  visitation 
by  the  officers  in  charge.  Two  surgeons  were  at  one  time 
sent  by  President  DAVIS  to  inspect  the  camp,  but  a  walk 
through  a  small  section  gave  them  all  the  information  they 
desired,  and  we  never  saw  them  again. 

The  guards  usually  numbered  about  sixty-four — eight  at 
each  end,  and  twenty -four  on  a  side.  On  the  outside,  within 
three  hundred  yards,  were  fortifications,  on  high  ground 
overlooking  and  perfectly  commanding  us,  mounting  twenty- 
four  twelve-pound  Napoleon  Parrotts.  We  were  never  per 
mitted  to  go  outside,  except  at  times,  in  small  squads,  to 
gather  our  fire-wood.  During  the  building  of  the  cook 
house,  a  few,  who  Avere  carpenters,  were  ordered  out  to 
assist. 

Our  only  shelter  from  the  sun  and  rain  and  night  dews, 


26-i  SUPPLEMENT. 

was  what  we  could  make  by  strtetching  over  us  our  coats  of 
scraps  of  blankets,  which  a  few  had,  but  generally  there 
was  no  attempt  by  day  or  night  to  protect  ourselves. 

The  rations  consisted  of  eight  ounces  of  corn  bread,  (the 
cob  being  ground  with  the  kernel,)  and  generally  sour;  two 
ounces  of  condemned  pork,  offensive  in  appearance  and 
smell.  Occasionally,  about  twice  a  week,  two  tablespoonfuls 
of  rice,  and  in  place  of  the  pork  the  same  amount  (two  table  - 
spoonfuls)  of  molasses  was  given  us  about  twice  a  month.* 
This  ration  was  brought  into  camp  about  four  o'clock,  P.  M., 
and  thrown  from  the  wagons  to  the  ground,  the  men  being 
arranged  in  divisions  of  two  hundred  and  seventy,  subdi 
vided  into  squads  of  nineties  and  thirties.  It  was  the  custom 
to  consume  the  whole  ration  at  once,  rather  than  save  any 
for  the  next  day.  The  distribution  being  often  unequal 
some  would  lose  the  rations  altogether.  We  were  allowed 
no  dish  or  cooking  utensil  of  any  kind.  On  opening  the 
camp  in  the  winter,  the  first  two  thousand  prisoners  were 
allowed  skillets,  one  to  fifty  men,  but  these  were  soon  taken 
away.  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  information  and 
belief,  our  ration  was  in  quality  a  starving  one,  it  being 
either  too  foul  to  be  touched  or  too  raw  to  be  digested. 

The  cook-house  went  into  operation  about  May  10,  prior 
to  which  we  cooked  our  own  rations.  It  did  not  prove  at 
all  adequate  to  the  work,  (thirty  thousand  is  a  large  town,) 
so  that  a  large  proportion  were  still  obliged  to  prepare  their 


*  Our  regular  army  ration  is  : 
£  Ib.  Pork  or  1£  Ibs.  Fresh  Beef, 
18  ozs.  Hard  Bread,  or  20  ozs.  Soft  Bread  or  Flour, 
1-10  ft>.  Coffee, 
1-6  Ib.  Sugar, 
1-10  ft.  Rice,  or 
1-10  Ib.  Beans  or  Hominy. 

Vegetables — Fresh  or  j 


Dessicated, 

;  Irregularly, 

Molasses 

Vinegar. 


Molasses,  i 


SUFFERINGS  OF  UNION  PRISONERS  AT  ANDERSONVILLE.  265 

own  food.  Iii  addition  to  the  utter  inability  of  many  to  do 
this,  through  debility  and  sickness,  we  never  had  a  supply 
of  wood.  I  have  often  seen  men  with  a  little  bag  of  meal 
in  hand,  gathered  from  several  rations,  starving  to  death  for 
want  of  wood,  and  in  desperation  would  mix  the  raw  ma 
terial  with  water  and  try  to  eat  it. 

Tlie  clothing  of  the  men  was  miserable  in  the  extreme. 
Very  few  had  shoes  of  any  kind,  not  two  thousand  had 
coats  and  pants,  and  those  were  late  comers.  More  than 
one-half  were  indecently  exposed,  and  many  were  naked. 
.  The  usual  punishment  was  to  place  the  men  in  the  stocks, 
outside,  near  the  Captain's  quarters.  If  a  man  was  missing 
at  roll-call,  the  squad  of  ninety  to  which  he  belonged  was 
deprived  of  the  ration.  The  "dead-line"  bullet,  already 
referred  to,  spared  no  offender.  One  poor  fellow,  just  from 
Sherman's  army — his  name  was  Roberts — was  trying  to 
wash  his  face  near  the  "  dead-line"  railing,  when  he  slipped 
on  the  claj^ey  bottom,  and  fell  with  his  head  just  outside  the 
fatal  border.  We  shouted  to  him,  but  it  was  too  late — 
"another  guard  would  have  a  furlough,"  the  men  said.  It 
was  a  common  belief  among  our  men,  arising  from  state 
ments  made  by  the  guard,  that  General  WINDER,  in  com 
mand,  issued  an  order  that  any  one  of  the  guard  who  should 
shoot  a  Yankee  outside  of  the  "  dead-line"  should  have  a 
month's  furlough,  but  there  probably  was  no  truth  in  this. 
About  two  a  day  were  thus  bhot,  some  being  cases  of  suicide, 
brought  on  by  mental  depression  or  physical  misery,  the 
poor  fellows  throwing  themselves,  or  madly  rushing  outside 
the  "  line." 

The  mental  condition  of  a  large  portion  of  the  men  was 
melancholy,  beginning  in  despondency  and  tending  to  a  kind 
of  stolid  and  idiotic  indifference.  Many  spent  much  time 
in  arousing  and  encouraging  their  fellows,  but  hundreds 
were  lying  about  motionless,  or  stalking  vacantly  to  and 
fro,  quite  beyond  any  help  which  could  be  given  them 
within  their  prison  walls.  These  cases  were  frequent  among 


266  SUPPLEMENT. 

those  who  had  been  imprisoned  but  a  short  time.  There 
were  those  who  were  captured  at  the  first  Bull  Eun,  July 
1861,  and  had  known  Belle  Isle  from  the  first,  yet  had  pre 
served  their  physical  and  mental  health  to  a  wonderful 
degree.  Many  were  wise  and  resolute  enough  to  keep  them 
selves  occupied — some  in  cutting  bone  and  wood  ornaments, 
making  their  knives  out  of  iron  hoops — others  in  manu 
facturing  ink  from  the  rust  from  these  same  hoops,  and  with 
rude  pens  sketching  or  imitating  bank  notes  or  any  sample 
that  would  involve  long  and  patient  execution. 

Letters  from  home  very  seldom  reached  us,  and  few  had 
any  means  of  writing.  In  the  early  summer,  a  large  batch 
of  letters — five  thousand  we  were  told — arrived,  having 
been  accumulating  somewhere  for  many  months.  These 
were  brought  into  camp  by  an  officer,  under  orders  to 
collect  ten  cents  on  each — of  course  most  were  returned, 
1  and  we  heard  no  more  of  them.  One  of  my  companions 
saw  among  them  three  from  his  parents,  but  he  was  unable 
to  pay  the  charge.  According  to  the  rules  of  transmission 
of  letters  over  the  lines,  these  letters  must  have  already 
paid  ten  cents  each  to  the  rebel  government. 

As  far  as  we  saw  General  Winder  and  Captain  Wirtz, 
the  former  was  kind  and  considerate  in  his  manners,  the 
latter  harsh,  though  not  without  kindly  feelings. 

It  is  a  melancholy  and  mortifying  fact,  that  some  of  our 
trials  came  from  our  own  men.  At  Belle  Isle  and  Ander- 
sonville  there  were  among  us  a  gang  of  desperate  men, 
ready  to  prey  on  their  fellows.  Not  only  thefts  and 
robberies,  but  even  murders  were  committed.  Affairs 
became  so  serious  at  Camp  oumter  that  an  appeal  was  made 
to  General  Winder,  who  authorized  an  arrest  and  trial  by  a 
criminal  court.  Eighty-six  were  arrested,  and  six  were 
hung,  beside  others  who  were  severely  punished.  These 
proceedings  effected  a  marked  change  for  the  better. 

Some  few  weeks  before  being  released,  I  was  ordered  to 
act  as  clerk  in  the  hospital.  This  consists  simply  of  a, 
low  scattered  trees  and  fly  tents,  and  is  in  cliaigo  of  Dr. 


SUFFERINGS  OF  UNION  PRISONEKS  AT  ANDEKSONVILLE.  267 

White,  an  excellent  and  considerate  man,  with  very  limited 
means,  but  doing  all  in  his  power  for  his  patients.  He  has 
twenty-five  assistants,  besides  those  detailed  to  examine  for 
admittance  to  the  hospital.  This  examination  was  made  in 
a  small  stockade  attached  to  the  main  one,  to  the  inside 
door  of  which  the  sick  came  or  were  brought  by  their 
comrades,  the  number  to  be  removed  being  limited. 
Lately,  in  consideration  of  the  rapidly  increasing  sickness, 
it  was  extended  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  daily.  That  this 
was  too  small  an  allowance  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
deaths  within  our  stockade  were  from  thirty  to  forty  a  day. 
I  have  seen  one  hundred  and  fifty  bodies  waiting  passage  to 
the  "  dead  house,"  to  be  buried  with  those  who  died  in  hos 
pital.  The  average  of  deaths  through  the  earlier  months  was 
thirty  a  day :  at  the  time  I  left,  the  average  was  over  one 
hundred  and  thirty,  and  one  day  the  record  showed  one 
hundred  and  forty-six. 

The  proportion  of  deaths  from  starvation,  not  including 
those  consequent  on  the  diseases  originating  in  the  char 
acter  and  limited  quantity  of  food,  such  as  diarrhoea,  dysen 
tery  and  scurvy,  I  cannot  state;  but,  to  the  best  of  my 
knowledge,  information  and  belief,  there  were  scores  every 
month.  We  could,  at  any  time,  point  out  many  for  whom 
such  a  fate  was  inevitable,  as  they  lay  or  feebly  walked, 
mere  skeletons,  whose  emaciation  exceeded  the  examples 
given  in  Leslie's  Illustrated  for  June  18,  180-1.  For  ex 
ample  :  in  some  cases  the  inner  edges  of  the  two  bones  of 
the  arms,  between  the  elbow  and  the  wrist,  with  the  inter 
mediate  blood  vessels,  were  plainly  visible  when  held 
toward  the  light.  The  ration,  in  quantity,  was  perhaps 
barely  sufficient  to  sustain  life,  and  the  cases  of  starvation 
were  generally  those  whose  stomachs  could  not  retain  what 
had  become  entirely  indigestible. 

For  a  man  to  find,  on  waking,  that  his  comrade  by  his 
side  was  dead,  was  an  occurrence  too  common  to  be  noted. 
I  have  seen  death  in  almost  all  the  forms  of  the  hospital 
and  battle-field,  but  the  daily  scenes  in  Camp  Sumter 


2  63  SUPPLEMENT. 

exceeded  in  the  extremity  of  misery  all  my  previous  experi 
ence. 

The  work  of  burial  is  performed  by  our  own  men,  under 
guard  and  orders,  twenty-five  bodies  being  placed  in  a 
single  pit,  without  head-boards,  and  the  sad  duty  performed 
with  indecent  haste.  Sometimes  our  men  were  rewarded 
for  this  work  with  a  few  sticks  of  fire- wood,  and  I  have 
known  them  to  quarrel  over  a  dead  body  for  the  job. 

Dr.  White  is  able  to  give  the  patients  a  diet  but  little 
better  than  the  prison  rations — a  little  flour  porridge,  arrow 
root,  whiskey  and  wild  or  hog  tomatoes.  In  the  way  of 
medicine,  I  saw  nothing  but  camphor,  whiskey,  and  a 
decoction  of  some  kind  of  bark — white  oak,  I  think.  He 
often  expressed  his  regret  that  he  had  not  more  medicines. 
The  limitation  of  military  orders,  under  which  the  surgeon 
in  charge  was  placed,  is  shown  by  the  following  occurrence : 
A  supposed  private,  wounded  in  the  thigh,  was  under  treat 
ment  in  the  hospital,  when  it  was  discovered  that  he  was  a 
major  of  a  colored  regiment.  The  assistant- surgeon,  under 
whose  immediate  charge  he  was,  proceeded  at  once,  not 
only  to  remove  him,  but  to  kick  him  out,  and  he  was 
returned  to  the  stockade,  to  shift  for  himself  as  well  as  he 
could.  Dr.  White  could  not  or  did  not  attempt  to  restore 
him. 

After  entering  on  my  duties  at  the  hospital,  I  was 
occasionally  favored  with  double  rations  and  some  wild 
tomatoes.  A  few  of  our  men  succeeded,  in  spite  of  the 
closest  examination  of  our  clothes,  in  secreting  some  green 
backs,  and  with  these  were  able  to  buy  useful  articles  at 
exorbitant  prices : — a  tea-cup  of  flour  at  one  dollar  ;  eggs, 
three  to  six  dollars  a  dozen;  salt,  four  dollars  a  pound; 
molasses,  thirty  dollars  a  gallon;  nigger  beans,  a  small, 
inferior  article,  (diet  of  the  slaves  and  pigs,  but  highly 
relished  by  us,)  fifty  cents  a  pint.  These  figures,  multiplied 
by  ten,  will  give  very  nearly  the  price  in  Confederate 
currency.  Thouga  the  country  abounded  in  pine  and  oak, 
sticks  were  sM  to  us  at  various  prices,  according  to  size. 


SUFFEEINGS  OF  UNION  PKISONERS  AT  ANDERSONVILLE  269 

Our  men,  especially  the  mechanics,  were  tempted  with 
the  offer  of  liberty  and  large  wages  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  Confederacy,  but  it  was  very  rare  that 
their  patriotism,  even  under  such  a  fiery  trial,  ever  gave 
way.  I  carry  this  message  from  one  of  my  companions  to 
his  mother :  "  My  treatment  here  is  killing  me,  mother,  but 
I  die  cheerfully  for  my  country." 

Some  attempts  were  made  to  escape,  but  wholly  in  vain, 
for  if  the  prison  walls  and  guards  were  passed  and  the  pro 
tecting  woods  reached,  the  bloodhounds  were  sure  to  find 
us  out. 

Tunneling  was  once  attempted  on  a  large  scale,  but  on 
the  afternoon  preceding  the  night  fixed  on  for  escape,  an 
officer  rode  in  and  announced  to  us  that  the  plot  was  dis 
covered,  and  from  our  huge  pen  we  could  see  on  the  hill 
above  us  the  regiments  just  arriving  to  strengthen  the 
guard.  We  had  been  betraye/L  It  was  our  belief  that 
spies  were  kept  in  the  camp,  which  could  very  easily  be 
done. 

The  number  in  camp  when  I  left  was  nearly  thirty-five 
thousand,  and  daily  increasing.  The  number  in  hospital  was 
about  five  thousand.  I  was  exchanged  at  Port  Eoyal  Ferry, 
August  16th. 

PRESCOTT  TRACY, 

Eighty-second  Regiment  N.  Y.  V. 

City  and  County  of  New  York,  ss. 

H.  C.  HIGGINSON  and  S.  NoiROT,  being  duly  sworn,  say: 
That  the  above  statement  of  Prescott  Tracy,  their  fellow- 
prisoner,  agrees  with  their  own  knowledge  and  experience. 

H.  C.  HIGGINSON, 

Co.  K.,  Nineteenth  Illinois  Voh. 

SILVESTER  NOIROT, 

Co.  B.,  Fifth  New  Jersey  Voh. 


THE    MEMORIAL 

OF   THE 

ONION  PRISONERS  CONFINED  AT  ANDERSONVILLE,  GA. 

TO   TOE 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE   UNITED   STATES. 


CONFEDERATE  STATES  PRISON", 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  August  — ,  1864. 

To  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES: 

Tho  condition  of  the  enlisted  men  belonging  to  the  Union 
armies,  now  prisoners  to  the  Confederate  rebel  forces,  is 
such  that  it  becomes  our  duty,  and  the  duty  of  every  com 
missioned  officer,  to  make  known  the  facts  in  the  case  to  the 
Government- of  the  United  States,  and  to  use  every  honora 
ble  effort  to  secure  a  general  exchange  of  prisoners,  thereby 
relieving  thousands  of  our  comrades  from  the  horror  now 
surrounding  them. 

For  some  time  past  there  has  been  a  concentration  of 
prisoners  from  all  parts  of  the  rebel  territory  to  the  State 
of  Georgia — the  commissioned  officers  being  confined  at 
Macon,  and  the  enlisted  men  at  Andcrsonville.  Kecent 
movements  of  the  Union  armies  under  General  Sherman 
have  compelled  the  removal  of  prisoners  to  other  points, 
and  it  is  now  understood  that  they  will  be  removed  to 
Savannah,  Georgia,  and  Columbus  and  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  But  no  change  of  this  kind  holds  out  any 
prospect  of  relief  to  our  poor  men.  Indeed,  as  the  locali 
ties  selected  are  far  more  unhealthy,  there  must  be  an 
increase  rather  than  a  diminution  of  suffering.  Colonel 

(271) 


272  SUPPLEMENT. 

Hill,  provost  marshal  general,  Confederate  States  army,  at 
Atlanta,  stated  to  one  of  the  undersigned  that  there  Were 
thirty-five  thousand  prisoners  at  Andersonville,  and  by  all 
accounts  from  the  United  States  soldiers  who  have  been 
confined  there  the  number  is  not  overstated  by  him.  These 
thirty-five  thousand  are  confined  in  a  field  of  some  thirty 
acres,  enclosed  by  a  board  fence,  heavily  guarded.  About 
one-third  have  various  kinds  of  indifferent  shelter;  but 
upwards  of  thirty  thousand  are  wholly  without  shelter,  or 
even  shade  of  any  kind,  and  are  exposed  to  the  storms  and 
rains,  which  are  of  almost  daily  occurrence ;  the  cold  dews 
of  the  night,  and  the  more  terrible  effects  of  the  sun  striking 
with  almost  tropical  fierceness  upon  their  unprotected  heads. 
This  mass  of  men  jostle  and  and  crowd  each  other  up  and 
down  the  limits  of  their  enclosure,  in  storms  or  'sun,  and 
others  lie  down  upon  the  pitiless  earth  at  night  with  no 
other  covering  than  the  clothing  upon  their  backs,  few  of 
them  having  even  a  blanket. 

Upon  entering  the  prison  every  man  is  deliberately 
stripped  of  money  and  other  property,  and  as  no  clothing 
or  blankets  are  ever  supplied  to  their  prisoners  by  the  rebel 
authorities,  the  condition  of  the  apparel  of  the  soldiers,  just 
from  an  active  campaign,  can  be  easily  imagined.  Thousands 
are  without  pants  or  coats,  and  hundreds  without  even  a 
pair  of  drawers  to  cover  their  nakedness. 

To  these  men,  as  indeed  to  all  prisoners,  there  is  issued 
three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  bread  or  meal,  and  one-eighth 
of  a  pound  of  meat  per  day.  This  is  the  entire  ration,  and 
upon  it  the  prisoner  must  live  or  die.  The  meal  is  often 
unsifted  and  sour,  and  the  meat  such  as  in  the  North  is  con 
signed  to  the  soapmaker.  Such  are  the  rations  upon  which 
Union  soldiers  are  fed  by  the  rebel  authorities,  and  by 
•which  they  are  barely  holding  on  to  life.  But  to  starvation 
and  exposure  to  sun  and  storm,  add  the  sickness  which 
prevails  to  a  most  alarming  and  terrible  extent.  On  an 
average,  one  hundred  die  dally.  It  is  impossible  that  any 
Union  soldier  should  know  all  the  facts  pertaining  to  this 


MEMORIAL  TO  THE  PRESIDENT.  273 

terrible  mortality,  as  they  are  not  paraded  by  the  rebel 
authorities.  Such  statement  as  the  following,  made  by 

,  speaks  eloquent  testimony.     Said  he  :    "  Of 

twelve  of  us  who  were  captured  six  died,  four  are  in  the 
hospital,  and  I  never  expect  to  see  them  again.  There  are 
but  two  of  us  left."  In  1862,  at  Montgomery,  Alabama, 
under  far  more  favorable  circumstances,  the  prisoners  being 
protected  by  sheds,  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hun 
dred  were  sick  from  diarrhoea  and  chills,  out  of  seven  hun 
dred.  The  same  per  centage  would  give  seven  thousand 
sick  at  Andersonville.  It  needs  no  comment,  no  efforts  at 
word  painting,  to  make  such  a  picture  stand  out  boldly  in 
most  horrible  colors. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Among  the  ill-fated  of  the  many  who 
have  suffered  amputation  in  consequence  of  injuries  received 
before  capture,  sent  from  rebel  hospitals  before  their  wounds 
were  healed,  there  are  eloquent  witnesses  of  the  barbarities 
of  which  they  are  victims.  If  to  these  flcts  is  added  this, 
that  nothing  more  demoralizes  soldiers  and  develops  the  evil 
passions  of  man  than  starvation,  the  terrible  condition  of 
Union  prisoners  at  Andersonville  can  be  readily  imagined. 
They  are  fast  losing  hope,  and  becoming  utterly  reckless  of 
life.  Numbers,  crazed  by  their  sufferings,  wander  about  in 
a  state  of  idiocy;  others  deliberately  cross  the  "dead  line," 
and  are  remorselessly  shot  down. 

In  behalf  of  these  men  we  most  earnestly  appeal  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  Few  of  them  have  been 
captured  except  in  the  front  of  battle,  in  the  deadly  en 
counter,  and  only  when  overpowered  by  numbers.  They 
constitute  as  gallant  a  portion  of  oar  armies  as  carry  our 
banners  any  where.  If  released,  they  would  soon  return  to 
again  do  vigorous  battle  for  our  cause.  We  are  told  that 
the  only  obstacle  in  the  way  of  exchange  is  the  status  of 
enlisted  negroes  captured  from  our  armies,  the  United  States 
claiming  that  the  cartel  covers  all  who  serve  under  its  flag, 
and  the  Confederate  States  refusing  to  consider  the  colored 

soldiers,  heretofore  slaves,  as  prisoners  of  war. 

18 


"274  SUPPLEMENT. 

We  beg  leave  to  suggest  some  facts  bearing  upon  the 
question  of  exchange,  which  we  would  urge  upon  this  con 
sideration.  Is  it  not  consistent  with  the  national  honor, 
without  waiving  the  claim  that  the  negro  soldiers  shall  be 
treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  to  effect  an  exchange  of  the 
whije  soldiers  ?  The  two  classes  are  treated  differently  by 
the  enemy.  The  whites  are  confined  in  such  prisons  as 
Libby  and  Andersonville,  starved  and  treated  with  a  bar 
barism  unknown  to  civilized  nations.  The  blacks,  on  the 
contrary,  are  seldom  imprisoned.  They  are  distributed 
among  the  citizens,  or  employed  on  government  works. 
Under  these  circumstances  they  receive  enough  to  eat  and 
are  worked  no  harder  than  they  have  been  accustomed  to  be. 
They  are  neither  starved  or  killed  off  by  the  pestilence  in  the 
dungeons  of  Richmond  and  Charleston.  It  is  true  they  are 
again  made  slaves ;  but  their  slavery  is  freedom  and  happi 
ness  compared  with  the  cruel  existence  imposed  upon  our 
gallant  men.  They  are  not  bereft  of  hope,  as  are  the  white 
soldiers,  dying  by  piece-meal.  Their  chances  of  escape  are 
tenfold  greater  than  those  of  the  white  soldiers,  and  their 
condition,  in  all  its  lights,  is  tolerable  in  comparison  with 
that  of  the  prisoners  of  war  now  languishing  in  the  dens 
and  pens  of  Secession. 

While,  therefore,  believing  the  claims  of  our  Government, 
in  matters  of  exchange,  to  be  just,  we  are  profoundly  im 
pressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  circumstances  of  the 
two  classes  of  soldiers  are  so  widely '  different  that  the  Gov 
ernment  can  honorably  consent  to  an  exchange,  waiving  for 
a  time  the  established  principle  justly  claimed  to  be  appli 
cable  in  the  case.  Let  thirty -five  thousand  suffering,  starving, 
and  dying  enlisted  men  aid  this  appeal.  By  prompt  and 
decided  action  in  their  behalf  thirty-five  thousand  heroes 
will  be  made  happy.  For  the  eighteen  hundred  commis 
sioned  officers  now  prisoners  we  urge  nothing.  Although 
desirous  of  returning  to  our  duty,  we  can  bear  imprison 
ment  with  more  fortitude  if  the  enlisted  men,  whose  sufferings 
we  know  to  be  intolerable,  were  restored  to  liberty  and  life. 


THE  EXCHANGE  QUESTION. 


Letter    of    Major-General     Butler,     United    States 

Commissioner   of  Exchange,    to    Col.    Ould, 

the  Confederate   Commissioner. 


HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF 

VIRGINIA  AND  NORTH  CAROLINA, 

IN  THE  FIELD,  August  — ,  1864. 

HON.  EGBERT  OULD, 

Commissioner  of  Exchartge. 

SIR  : — Your  note  to  Major  Mulford,  Assistant  Agent  of 
Exchange,  under  date  of  10th  August,  has  been  referred 
to  me. 

You  therein  state  that  Major  Mulford  has  several  times 
proposed  "  to  exchange  prisoners  respectively  held  by  the 
two  belligerents,  officer  for  officer  and  man  for  man,"  and 
that  "  the  offer  has  also  been  made  by  other  officials  having 
charge  of  matters  connected  with  the  exchange  of  prisoners," 
and  that  "  this  proposal  has  been  heretofore  declined  by  the 
Confederate  authorities."  That  you  now  "consent  to  the 
above  proposition,  and  agree  to  deliver  to  you  (Major  Mul 
ford)  the  prisoners  held  in  captivity  by  the  Confederate 
authorities,  provided  you  agree  to  deliver  an  equal  number 
of  officers  and  men.  As  equal  numbers  are  delivered  from 
time  to  time,  they  will  be  declared  exchanged.  This  pro 
posal  is  made  with  the  understanding  that  the  officers  and 

(275) 


276  SUPPLEMENT. 

men  on  botli  sides  who  have  been  longest  in  captivity  will 
be  first  delivered,  where  it  is  practicable." 

From  a  slight  ambiguity  in  your  phraseology,  but  more, 
perhaps,  from  the  antecedent  action  of  your  authorities,  and 
because  of  your  acceptance  of  it,  I  am  in  doubt  whether 
you  have  stated  the  proposition  with  entire  accuracy. 

It  is  true,  a  proposition  was  made  both  by  Major  Mulford 
and  by  myself,  as  Agent  of  Exchange,  to  exchange  all 
prisoners  of  war  taken  by  either  belligerent  party,  man  for 
man,  officer  for  officer,  of  equal  rank,  or  their  equivalents. 
It  was  made  by  me  as  early  as  the  first  of  the  winter  of 
1863-64,  and  has  not  been  accepted.  In  May  last  I  for 
warded  to  you  a  note,  desiring  to  know  whether  the  Con 
federate  authorities  intended  to  treat  colored  soldiers  of  the 
United  States  army  as  prisoners  of  war.  To  that  inquiry 
no  answer  has  yet  been  made.  To  avoid  all  possible  mis 
apprehension  or  mistake  hereafter  as  to  your  offer  now,  will 
you  now  say  whether  you  mean  by  "  prisoners  held  in  cap 
tivity,"  colored  men,  duly  enrolled,  and  mustered  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  who  have  been  captured  by 
the  Confederate  forces;  and  if  your  authorities  are  willing 
to  exchange  all  soldiers  so  mustered  into  the  United  States 
army,  Avhether  colored  or  otherwise,  and  the  officers  com 
manding  them,  man  for  man,  officer  for  officer  ? 

At  the  interview  which  was  held  between  yourself  and 
the  Agent  of  Exchange  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  in  March  last,  you  will  do  me  the  favor  to 
remember  the  principal  discussion  turned  upon  this  very 
point;  you,  on  behalf  of  the  Confederate  Government 
claiming  the  right  to  hold  all  negroes,  who  had  heretofore 
been  slaves,  and  not  emancipated  by  their  masters,  enrolled 
and  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  when 
captured  by  your  forces,  not  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  upon 
capture  to  be  turned  over  to  their  supposed  masters  or 
claimants,  whoever  they  might  be,  to  be  held  by  them  as 
slaves. 

By  the  advertisements  in  your  newspapers,  calling  upon 


THE  EXCH'ANGE  QUESTION.  277 

masters  to  come  forward  and  claim  these  men  so  captured, 
I  suppose  that  your  authorities  still  adhere  to  that  claim — 
that  is  to  say,  that  whenever  a  colored  soldier  of  the  United 
States  is  captured  by  you,  upon  whom-  any  claim  can  be 
made  by  any  person  residing  within  the  States  now  in  insur 
rection,  such  soldier  is  not  to  be  treated  as  a  prisoner  of  war, 
but  is  to  be  turned  over  to  his  supposed  owner  or  claimant, 
and  put  at  such  labor  or  service  as  that  owner  or  claimant 
may  choose,  and  the  officers  in  command  of  such  soldiers, 
in  the  language  of  a  supposed  act  of  the  Confederate  States, 
are  to  be  turned  over  to  the  Governors  of  States,  upon 
requisitions,  for  the  purpose  of  being  punished  by  the  laws 
of  sijph  States,  for  acts  done  in  war  in  the  armies  of  the 
United  States. 

You  must  be  aware  that  there  is  still  a  proclamation  by 
Jefferson  Davis,  claiming  to  be  Chief  Executive  of  the 
Confederate  States,  declaring  in  substance  that  all  officers  of 
colored  troops  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States  were  not  to  be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  were 
to  be  turned  over  for  punishment  to  the  Governors  of 
States. 

I  am  reciting  these  public  acts  from  memory,  and  will  be 
pardoned  for  not  giving  the  exact  words,  although  I  believe 
I  do  not  vary  the  substance  and  effect. 

These  declarations  on  the  part  of  those  whom  you  repre 
sent  yet  remain  unrepealed,  unannulled,  unrevoked,  and 
must,  therefore,  be  still  supposed  to  be  authoritative.  By 
your  acceptance  of 'our  proposition,  is  the;  Government  of 
the  United  States  to  understand  that  these  several  claims, 
enactments,  and  proclaimed  declarations  are  to  be  given  up, 
set  aside,  revoked,  and  held  for  naught  by  the  Confederate 
authorities,  and  that  you  are  ready  and  willing  to  exchange 
man  for  man  those  colored  soldiers  of  the  United  States, 
duly  mustered  and  enrolled  as  such,  who  have  heretofore 
been  claimed  as  slaves  by  the  Confederate  States,  as  well  as 
white  soldiers  ? 

If  this  be  so,  and  you  are  so  willing  to  exchange  these 


278  SUPPLEMENT. 

colored  men  claimed  as  slaves,  and  you  will  so  officially 
inform  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  then,  as  I  am 
instructed,  a  principal  difficulty  in  effecting  exchanges  will 
be  removed. 

As  I  informed  you  personally,  in  my  judgment,  it  is 
neither  consistent  with  the  policy,  dignity,  or  honor  of  the 
United  States,  upon  any  consideration,  to  allow  those  who, 
by  our  laws  solemnly  enacted,  are  made  soldiers  of  the 
Union,  and  who  have  been  duly  enlisted,  enrolled  and  mus 
tered  as  such  soldiers,  who  have  borne  arms  in  behalf  of  this 
country,  and  who  have  been  captured  while  fighting  in  vin 
dication  of  the  rights  of  that  country,  not  to  be  treated  as 
prisoners  of  war,  and  remain  unexchanged,  and  i%  the 
service  of  those  who  claim  them  as  masters ;  and  I  cannot 
believe  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  will  ever 
be  found  to  consent  to  so  gross  a  wrong. 

Pardon  me  if  I  misunderstood  you  in  supposing  that  your 
acceptance  of  our  proposition  does  not -in  good  faith  mean 
to  include  all  the  soldiers  of  the  Union,  and  that  you  still 
intend,  if  your  acceptance  is  agreed  to,  to  hold  the  colored 
soldiers  of  the  Union  unexchanged,  and  at  labor  or  service, 
because  I  am  informed  that  very  lately,  almost  contempo 
raneously  with  this  offer  on  your  part  to  exchange  prisoners 
and  which  seems  to  include  all  prisoners  of  war,  the  Con 
federate  authorities  have  made  a  declaration  that  the  negroes 
heretofore  held  to  service  by  owners  in  the  States  of  Dela 
ware,  Maryland,  and  Missouri  are  to  be  treated  as  prisoners 
of  war,  when  captured  in  arms  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States. 

Such  declaration  that  a  part  of  the  colored  soldiers  of  the 
United  States  were  to  be  prisoners  of  war,  would  seem  most 
strongly  to  imply  that  others  were  not  to  be  so  treated,  or 
in  other  words,  that  the  colored  men  from  the  insurrec 
tionary  States  are  to  be  held  to  labor  and  returned  to  their 
masters,  if  captured  by  the  Confederate  forces  while  duly 
enrolled  and  mustered  into,  and  actually  in  the  armies  of  the 
United  States. 


THE   EXCHANGE   QUESTION.  279 

In  the  view  which  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
takes  of  the  claim  made  by  you  to  the  persons  and  services 
of  these  negroes,  it  is  not  to  be  supported  upon  any  prin 
ciple  of  national  and  municipal  law. 

Looking  upon  these  men  only  as  property,  upon  your 
theory  of  property  in  them,  we  do  not  see  how  this  claim 
can  be  made,  certainly  not  how  it  can  be  yielded.  It  is 
believed  to  be  a  well- settled  rule  of  public  international  law, 
and  a  custom  and  part  of  the  laws  of  war,  that  the  capture 
of  movable  property  vests  the  title  to  that  property  in  the 
captor,  and  therefore  where  one  belligerent  gets  into  full 
possession  property  belonging  to  the  subjects  or  citizens  of 
the  other  belligerent,  the  owner  of  that  property  is  at  once 
divested  of  his  title,  which  rests  in  the  belligerent  Govern 
ment  capturing  and  holding  such  possession.  Upon  this 
rule  of  international  law  all  civilized  nations  have  acted, 
and  by  it  both  belligerents  have  dealt  with  all  property, 
save  slaves,  taken  from  each  other  during  the  present  war. 

If  the  Confederate  forces  capture  a  number  of  horses 
from  the  United  States,  the  animals  immediately  are  claimed 
to  be,  and,  as  we  understand  it,  become  the  property  of  the 
Confederate  authorities. 

If  the  United  States  capture  any  movable  property  in  the 
rebellion,  by  our  regulations  and  laws,  in  conformity  with 
international  law,  and  the  laws  of  war,  such  property  if.- 
turned  over  to  our  Government  as  its  property.  Therefore, 
if  we  obtain  possession  of  that  species  of  property  known 
to  the  laws  of  the  insurrectionary  States  as  slaves,  why 
should  there  be  any  doubt  that  that  property,  like  any  other, 
vests  in  the  United  States  ? 

If  the  property  in  the  slave  does  so  vest,  then  the  ''jus 
disp.onendi,"  the  right  of  disposing  of  that  property,  rests  in 
the  United  States, 

Now,  the  United  States  have  disposed  of  the  property 
which  they  have  acquired  by  capture  in  slaves  taken  by 
them,  by  giving  that  right  of  property  to  the  man  himself, 
to  the  slave,  i.  e.  by  emancipating  him  and  declaring  him 


280  SUPPLEMENT. 

free  forever,  so  that  if  we  have  not  mistaken  the  principles 
of  international  law  and  the  laws  of  war  we  have  no  slaves 
in  the  armies  of  the  United  States.  All  are  free  men, 
being  made  so  in  such  manner  as  we  have  chosen  to 
dispose  of  our  property  in  them  which  we  acquired  by 
capture. 

Slaves  being  captured  by  us,  and  the  right  of  property  in 
them  thereby  vested  in  us,  that  right  of  property  has  been 
disposed  of  by  us  by  manumitting  them,  as  has  always  been 
the  acknowledged  right  of  the  owner  to  do  to  his  slave. 
The  manner  in  which  we  dispose  of  our  property  while  it  is 
in  our  possession  certainly  cannot  be  questioned  by  you. 

Nor  is  the  case  altered  if  the  property  is  not  actually 
captured  in  battle,  but  comes  either  voluntarily  or  involun 
tarily  from  the  belligerent  owner  into  the  possession  of  the 
other  belligerent. 

I  take  it  no  one  would  doubt  the  right  of  the  United 
States  to  a  drove  of  Confederate  mules,  or  a  herd  of  Con 
federate  cattle,  which  should  wander  or  rush  across  the  Con 
federate  lines  into  the  lines  of  the  United'States  army.  So 
it  seems  to  me,  treating  the  negro  as  property  merely,  if  that 
piece  of  property  passes  the  Confederate  lines,  and  comes 
into  the  lines  of  the  United  States,  that  property  is  as  much 
lost  to  its  owner  in  the  Confederate  States  as  would  be  the 
mule  or  ox,  the  property  of  the  resident  of  the  Confederate 
States,  which  should  fall  into  our  hands. 

If,  therefore,  the  privilege  of  international  law  and  the 
laws  of  war  used  in  this  discussion  are  correctly  stated,  then 
it  would  seem  that  the  deduction  logically  flows  therefrom, 
in  natural  sequence,  that  the  Confederate  States  can  have  no 
claim  upon  the  negro  soldiers  captured  by  them  from  the 
armies  of  the  United  States,  because  of  the  former  owner 
ship  of  them  by  their  citizens  or  subjects,  and  only  claim 
such  as  result,  under  the  laws  of  war,  from  their  captor 
merely. 

Do  the  Confederate  authorities  claim  the  right  to  reduce 
to  a  state  of  slavery  free  men,  prisoners  of  war  captured 


THE   EXCHANGE   QUESTION.  281 

by  them?  This  claim  our  fathers  fought  against  under 
Bainbridge  and  Decatur,  when  set  up  by  the  Barbary 
Powers  on  the  northern  shore  of  Africa,  about  the  year 
1800,  and  in  1864:  their  children  will  hardly  yield  it  upon 
their  own  soil. 

This  point  I  will  not  pursue  further,  because  I  understand 
you.  to  repudiate  the  idea  that  you  will  reduce  free  men  to 
slaves  because  of  capture  in  war,  and  that  you  base  the 
claim,  of  the  Confederate  authorities  to  re-enslave  our  negro 
soldiers,  when  captured  by  you,  upon  the  "jus post  limini" 
or  that  principle  of  the  law  of  nations  which  inhabilitates' 
the  former  owner  with  his  property  taken  by  an  enemy, 
when  such  property  is  recovered  by  the  forces  of  his  own 
country. 

Or  in  other  words,  you  claim  that,  by  the  laws  of  nations 
and  of  war,  when  property  of  the  subjects  of  one  bellige 
rent  power,  captured  by  the  forces  of  the  other  belligerent, 
is  recaptured  by  the  armies  of  the  former  owner,  then  such 
property  is  to  be  restored  to  its  prior  possessor,  as  if  it  had 
never  been  captured,  and,  therefore,  under  this  principle 
your  authorities  propose  to  restore  to  their  masters  the 
slaves  which  heretofore  belonged  to  them  which  you  may 
capture  from  us. 

But  this  post  liminary  right  under  which  you  claim  to 
act,  as  understood  and  defined  by  all  writers  on  national 
law,  is  applicable  simply  to  immovable  property,  and  that  too, 
only  after  the  complete  resubjugation  of  that  portion  of  the 
country  in  which  the  property  is  situated,  upon  which  this 
right  fastens  itself.  By  the  laws  and  customs  of  war,  this 
right  has  never  been  applied  to  movable  property. 

True,  it  is  I  believe,  that  the  Eomans  attempted  to  apply 
it  to  the  case  of  slaves,  but  for  two  thousand  years  no  other 
nation  has  attempted  to  set  up  this  right  as  ground  for 
treating  slaves  differently  from  other  property. 

But  the  Eomans  even  refused  to  re-enslave  men  captured 
from  opposing  belligerents  in  a  civil  war,  such  as  ours 
unhappily  is. 


282  SUPPLEMENT. 

Consistently  then  with  any  principle  of  the  law  of  nations, 
treating  slaves  as  property  merely,  it  would  seem  to  be  im 
possible  for  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  permit 
the  negroes  in  their  ranks  to  be  re-enslaved  when  captured, 
or  treated  otherwise  than  as  prisoners  of  war. 

I  have  forborne,  sir,  in  this  discussion,  to  argue  the  ques 
tion  upon  any  other  or  different  grounds  of  right  than  those 
adopted  by  your  authorities  in  claiming  the  negro  as  pro 
perty,  because  I  understand  that  your  fabric  of  opposition 
to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  has  the  right  of 
property  in  man  as  its  corner-stone.  Of  course  it  would 
not  be  profitable  in  settling  a  question  of  exchange  of 
prisoners  of  war  to  attempt  to  argue  the  question  of  abandon 
ment  of  the  very  corner-stone  of  their  attempted  political 
edifice.  Therefore  I  have  admitted  all  the  considerations 
which  should  apply  to  the  negro  soldier  as  a  man,  and  dealt 
with  him  upon  the  Confederate"  theory  of  property  only. 

I  unite  with  you  most  cordially,  sir,  in  desiring  a  speedy 
settlement  of  all  these  questions,  in  view  of  the  great  suffer 
ing  endured  by  our  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  your  authori 
ties,  of  which  you  so  feelingly  speak.  Let  me  ask,  in  view 
of  that  suffering,  why  you  have  delayed  eight  months  to 
answer  a  proposition  which  by  now  accepting  you  admit  to 
be  right,  just,  and  humane,  allowing  that  suffering  to  con 
tinue  so  long  ?  One  cannot  help  thinking,  even  at  the  risk 
of  being  deemed  uncharitable,  that  the  benevolent  sympa 
thies  of  the  Confederate  authorities  have  been  lately  stirred 
by  the  depleted  condition  of  their  armies,  and  a  desire  to 
get  into  the  field,  to  affect  the  present  campaign,  the  hale, 
hearty,  and  well-fed  prisoners  held  by  the  United  States  in 
exchange  for  the  half-starved,  sick,  emaciated,  and  unser 
viceable  soldiers  of  the  United  States  now  languishing  in 
your  prisons.  The  events  of  this  war,  if  we  did  not  know 
it  before,  have  taught  us  that  it  is  not  the  Northern  portion 
of  the  American  people  alone  who  know  how  to  drive  sharp 
bargains. 

The  wrongs,  indignities,  and  privations  suffered  by  our 


THE  EXCHANGE   QUESTION.  283 

soldiers  would  move  me  to  consent  to  anything  to  procure 
their  exchange,  except  to  barter  away  the  honor  and  faith 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  which  has  been  so 
solemnly  pledged  to  the  colored  soldiers  in  its  ranks. 

Consistently  with  national  faith  and  justice  we  cannot 
relinquish  this  position.  "With  your  authorities  it  is  a  ques 
tion  of  property  merely.  It  seems  to  address  itself  to  you 
in  this  form.  Will  you  suffer  your  soldier,,  captured  in 
fighting  your  battles,  to  be  in  confinement  for  months  rather 
than  release  him  by  giving  for  him  that  which  you  call  ? 
piece  of  property,  and  which  we  are  willing  to  accept  as  a 
man? 

You  certainly  appear  to  place  less  value  upon  your 
soldier  than  you  do  upon  your  negro.  I  assure  you,  much 
as  we  of  the  North  are  accused  of  loving  property,  our 
citizens  would  have  no  difficulty  in  yielding  up  any  piece 
of  property  they  have  in  exchange  for  one  of  their  brothers 
or  sons  languishing  in  your  prisons.  Certainly  there  could 
be  no  doubt  that  they  would  do  so  were  that  piece  of  pro 
perty  less  in  value  than  five  thousand  dollars  in  Confederate 
money,  which  is  believed  to  be  the  price  of  an  able-bodied 
negro  in  the  insurrectionary  States. 

Trusting  that  I  may  receive  such  a  reply  to  the  questions 
propounded  in  this  note,  as  will  tend  to  a  speedy  resumption 
cf  the  negotiations  in  a  full  exchange  of  all  prisoners,  and 
a  delivery  of  them  to  their  respective  authorities. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Yery  Kespectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER, 

Major-General  and  Commissioner  of  Exchange 


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